Mama's A Mermaid
by AuthoressSama
Summary: Growing up, their son thinks his mother was just another unreliable girl who never wanted a child and he doesn't think fondly of her. What happens when Lucia's and Kaito's son makes a little discovery? R&R plz! OCs are not Mary Sues.
1. Happy Birthday

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Pichi Pichi Pitch Mermaid Melody characters! If I did, the anime AND manga would be complete and utter chaos, considering the fact that all of the characters would be completely off the deep end.**

**M-12: HEY! My first actual Mermaid Melody fic, so be nice in your review! (that is IF you review T^T) Nevermind, alright, summary:**

**Mama's a Mermaid: **After a short trip to the ocean, Lucia is gone. Before she left, she gave birth to a little boy. Growing up, the son thinks his mother was just another unreliable girl who never wanted a child and he doesn't think fondly of her. We all know that Lucia is a cry baby at times, but is very brave and noble on the inside. What happens when Lucia's and Kaito's son makes a little discovery?

**Mama's a Mermaid**

Chapter 1 – Happy Birthday

There was a man who was a strong prince of Panthalassa and was in love with the mermaid princess of the North Pacific Ocean. The two lovers fought, with the help of the other ocean princesses, and defeated Gackto, the other prince of Panthalassa.

Kaito glanced around the room, it was all set. A smile rose on his face when he saw his son walk into the room and groggily rub his eyes. "Hey, Toru, you're finally up." **(1)**

"Huh?" Toru took his hands away from his face. He opened his eyes that sparkled with all the blue and teal hues of his mother's. **(2) **Toru's dirty blonde bangs fell in front of his surprised expression. "Dad, it's not my birthday."

Kaito stared blankly at Toru then ran to the calendar. _Oh…damn. Toru was right! It's Lucia's birthday! Ugh…_ Kaito continued to gaze sadly at the calendar. _I remember the time Momo-chan took me to her underwater palace, _He smiled thoughtfully, then glared and growled, _but then Gackto attacked._

Toru made his way to the kitchen. "Dad, what're you-" He stared at the date circled in red. _Mom's birthday is today._ Toru growled as well. _That woman left Dad all alone! Why does he feel so sad without her?!_

Kaito glanced at his son and was shocked by his sudden anger. _Wait, how does Toru know about the palace incident? _"Toru, why are you angry?"

Toru stashed his angry expression and walked into the living room. "Because Mom left us, that's why! Why do you still love her?"

Kaito's eyes grew depressed as he stared out the sliding glass doors to the shimmering ocean. "I still love Lucia."

Toru sat on the couch and inspected the birthday cake. For some reason, the frosting was pink and there seemed to be a pink candy on it shaped like a pearl. **(3) **"What's this?"

Kaito was jolted back to Earth and rushed over to the cake. He stared at the 'candy' "Why is that on the cake?!" He swiped up the pink candy, rushed into the kitchen, and washed the small sphere off.

"Dad," Toru was confused by Kaito's reaction, "Are you alright? It's only a candy."

"No, it's not-!" Kaito held his tongue; he had just given away something he promised never to reveal.

Toru grew suspicious and walked into the kitchen. "If it's not a candy, then what is it?"

Before Kaito had a chance to think of an excuse, the door bell rang. "One second, Toru." Kaito set the small item down next to the sink and hurried to answer the door. **(4)** "Hanon, Rina? What are you two doing here?"

Kaito's conversation faded away as Toru stared at the small candy. _What could this be? _Toru inspected the seemingly sugar-filled sweetie. _Why is this important to Dad?_ Toru reached out to touch it.

Kaito walked his two friends into the kitchen. "-And this is-" He saw what his son was about to touch, "TORU DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Kaito snatched away the tiny, pink candy before Toru could feel it. Kaito breathed a sigh of relief. "That was close. Hanon, Rina, this is Toru."

A blue haired woman introduced herself. "Hi, Toru, my name is Hanon," she held her hand out to the green haired woman next to her, "and this is Rina! Remember us?" Her clear, energetic, sapphire eyes twinkled.

Toru slowly shook his head and pointed to the pink candy in Kaito's hands. "Do you know what that is?" His eyes narrowed.

Hanon and Rina inspected the pink sphere and their eyes grew wide. Kaito whispered something in their ears and they each had their own expression of confirmation. "Yes, we do know what it is." Hanon smiled simply while Rina stood, trying to decipher Hanon's answer.

"Then what is it?" Toru demanded for Hanon's answer.

"It's a good luck charm." Hanon raised her index finger, "Didn't you know? Your father is very superstitious. He put it in a rectangular prism when he first received it and he never removed it."

_Nice save, _Both Kaito and Rina thought; Hanon didn't seem the type to come up with such a convincing lie on the spur of the moment.

"We came to see Lu-" Rina stopped Hanon from talking, seeing as Toru grew angry again and Kaito secretly grew upset. "What's the matter?"

"Mom isn't here!" Toru spoke clearly and forcefully, "She left my Dad and me when I was a baby." His right foot bashed into the beige, carpeted flooring. His tone grew worse, "I'm glad she's gone. If she were here-I-I don't know what I would do!" As soon as his tantrum took effect, Toru stormed to his room.

Kaito's face hosted a pained expression, Hanon and Rina stared in shock. "Kaito, why did you tell your son that Lucia left you?" Rina asked hesitantly as her eyes narrowed as if to suspect Kaito of giving Lucia a horrid reputation.

"I never suggested that she left me. He must have gotten that idea from school or somewhere else." Kaito stumbled through the sliding glass doors to gaze at the shimmering sea.

Seconds later, Toru burst out of his room with his swimming trunks secured around his waist. Without a word, he ran to the door, snatched his surf board, and dashed down to the beach. "Kaito," Hanon placed a hand on his shoulder, "are you okay?"

Kaito shook his head. "No, I'm not. I want Lucia." There was a pause, "Where could she be?"

_Toru-_

Toru leaped into the salty water, swam with his board out to the ocean, and prepared to catch a wave. _Why'd Mom leave? That little candy can't be some charm. Why is everyone keeping me in the dark? What is going on?_

_Kaito, Hanon, and Rina-_

"Kaito," Rina spoke, "maybe if you told us what happened, we could figure out where Lucia is." Kaito shrugged and began.

_Kaito's Story-_

"Oi, Lucia!" Kaito closed the door to their apartment with an exuberant click. He yanked off his shoes having them drop and disturb the other shoes from their neat spots. "Lucia," He rushed into the kitchen to see Lucia fixing a snack consisting of peanut butter, spreadable marshmallow, and white bread.

"Kaito, welcome home," Lucia's warm smile stalled Kaito's enthusiasm. "What is it?"

Kaito, who at the time was entranced by his wife's sweet greeting, wrapped his arms around her lovingly and placed his lips upon hers, "Hey, Lucia. I missed you." He let his head rest on hers.

Lucia's face turned crimson. "Hi, Kaito, I missed you, too!" She giggled softly, "Why were you in such a rush?"

Kaito pulled away from Lucia. "Oh, right," he held up a few papers, "I'm entering another surfing competition." The excited smile resumed its position.

Lucia took the papers and stared at them in confusion, "Where?"

"In Hawaii," Kaito smiled, but then stopped when he saw Lucia's expression, "Lucia?" Lucia's eyes glistened with worry as she quivered. "Lucia, what's wrong?" Kaito slowly took the papers out of Lucia's hands and set them down on the table. He placed his hands on Lucia's shoulders and closed the gap between them, "Lucia?"

"The last time you went," Tears streamed down her face, "you forgot all about me. It was devastating!" There was a sound of a toy dropping. Kaito and Lucia both turned to the doorway. It was their four year old son, Toru. He seemed scared due to Lucia's tears and shout. Lucia turned away, wiped her eyes, and then picked up Toru. "Hi, Toru-chan, your snack is ready." She slipped on a happy mask.

Toru slowly smiled as Lucia placed him in a seat at the kitchen table and set his snack in front of him. Kaito bent down next to Lucia's ear. "That won't happen again; I hope to take you and Toru with me."

Lucia turned her head to Kaito, "Really?" She asked and Kaito nodded. Lucia's face brightened and she hugged Kaito's neck. "Oh, thank you, Kaito! I'll go start packing." With that, Lucia rushed off to pack everyone's belongings.

**M-12: Wow, I re-read this and I found out that it was horrible; absolutely awful.**

Lucia: Oh really? My family is absolutely awful?

**M-12: …Yes. They're boring.**

Lucia: What about Toru?! What's going to happen to him?! What about Kaito?! He's so sad! I want to be there with both of them! Why am I missing?!

**M-12: …Wow, Lucia. That's all I can say. Wow.**

Lucia: T~T

**Key:**

**(1): Toru means 'sea' ^_^**

**(2): His mother's MERMAID eyes.**

**(3): AH! NO! HE'S GONNA EAT THE PEARL! Hey, Matamote Lollipop, much?**

**(4): AHH! KAITO'S A MORON! The pearl thing is gonna fall down the sink!**


	2. Disappearance

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of Pichi Pichi Pitch Mermaid Melody, but I do own Toru. :3**

**M-12: Wow, I was surprised that people liked the first chapter of this story. And…IM SO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED IT YET! DX**

**Editor: Yes ._. and I am sorry that I didn't get around to editing this until 3 days later….so, if you readers are hankering to kill someone, kill me. =]**

Mama's A Mermaid

Chapter 2 – Disappearance

Kaito continued his story…

After getting off the plane, Kaito and Lucia drove to the Hawaiian styled hotel. Lucia held Toru's hand protectively throughout the whole trip across the Pacific. Once the family of three was in their hotel room, Lucia held a sleeping Toru in her arms as she gazed out at the ocean.

"Kaito," She happily sighed, "it looks beautiful."

Kaito walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, "I know you are."

Lucia gave off an average, red blush and then smiled up at Kaito, "Can we go shopping?"

Kaito paused and thought it over. "Okay, but I want to be able to practice surfing today."

Lucia her face was plastered with a happy grin, "I won't stop you. In fact, why don't you go surf right now? I'll wait until Toru's nap is done to join you."

Kaito smiled and kissed his pink mermaid princess's cheek lovingly. "I'll make sure that you can see me from up here."

"Okay," She giggled in a soft tone so as not to wake Toru, "Promise me that you'll be careful." Her tone grew serious as she gazed back out at the sea. "The water looks a little choppy and dark."

Kaito humored Lucia partially, "I promise that I'll be careful."

After reassuring Lucia that he'd be perfectly fine, Kaito slipped out of the hotel room with his board and strolled down the beach to the water. He glanced back, trying to find the window to his and Lucia's hotel room, but failed miserably. Kaito shrugged it off and looked back at the sea. Sure, it did look a little dangerous, but it was the wide open ocean; of course it'd be dangerous. Besides, it was a completely new shore, what could Lucia possibly know about this particular shore?

Again, Kaito shrugged it off and swam out to sea with his board. He sat on the wood, staring at the shore, waiting for Lucia. When half an hour passed, Kaito assumed that Lucia had fallen asleep with Toru and started to catch waves.

The salty, cool water splashed over Kaito's warmed body, causing him to smile at the relief.

Suddenly, the wind that danced over the water started to hum a dark melody. Kaito gazed at the gathering whirlpools and thought it pathetic that the enemy was being so obvious in their approach to harm anyone or everyone.

Then a thought struck him. What if they were making a big _exit_, instead of a big entrance? Kaito's eyes darted from the whirlpools and gathering clouds to stare at the shore. Toru was sitting in the sand and he looked as if he was crying and reaching out his arms towards the pounding currents and crashing waves.

Kaito then stole a good long look at the water. It had become a serene mirror that gazed back at him, magnifying the fishes' beautiful scales. After many more seconds of staring, Toru's cries found their way to Kaito's ears and he was forced to go back and care for his son.

"I was almost sure that Gackto had taken her away." Kaito slumped back in a chair at his kitchen table and watched Toru surf. "But we finished him off years ago, so I figured that my accusation wasn't very accurate at all."

Hanon stared at her coffee mug of water sadly, "It could've have been Michel or any of his followers, but he isn't here either."

Rina tapped on an empty glass, "Perhaps it's someone we haven't met before?"

Hanon stared at Rina with a blank expression that soon turned sour, "You make it sound like our previous enemies were acquaintances."

"Technically, they were," Rina concluded and glanced out the sliding glass doors. Hanon continued to rant on about how the enemies weren't friendly acquaintances and Rina agreed whole heartedly that they weren't friendly, but they were, in fact, acquaintances none the less. "Hey, Hanon."

Hanon stopped in mid rant, "What is it, Rina?" She questioned, her voice still a bit soured.

"Look out the window." Rina ordered and Hanon did so. "Don't the clouds look as if they're going to attack and suffocate the first creature that moves? Look at the water; it's as if it was stomach acid gone berserk."

Kaito's face turned pale, "I don't see Toru."

"He's probably on his way inside the building right now," Hanon tried to calm Kaito. "Just relax, okay? Watch, he'll be walking through the door any second."

Kaito yanked open the sliding glass doors, it was a miracle that the glass stayed intact. Wind whipped around into the kitchen, carrying a dark tune. He squinted his eyes to block the strong currents of air that bombarded his limbs and tried desperately to see Toru. "Hanon, Rina, we have to go down there, we have to go get Toru before he disappears!" Kaito turned back around to face the inside of his apartment.

Toru was staring back at Kaito with a mixed expression of realization, betrayal, and sadness. "Dad," he spoke ever so softly, "Mom didn't leave us, did she?"

Hanon looked back and forth between Kaito and Toru while Rina stared at her empty glass in a way if she stared at it long enough, the answer to all the current problems in the world would come bursting into view.

"…No, Toru." Kaito bit his lip as he slid the sliding glass door closed carefully. "She disappeared one evening in Hawaii. I was surfing and you were with her in the hotel room. The next thing I knew, I was holding you and your mother was missing."

A huge smile lit up Toru's face. "S-She didn't leave us for some hobo?"

Hanon's head darted back at Toru with one eyebrow cocked, "We've just established that she disappeared."

Toru looked like he was about to explode, "Then she doesn't hate me." He whispered under his breath.

A hurt expression flowed over Kaito's face as he spoke, "Toru, you thought that she hated you?"

Toru winced and leaned his jet black board against the wall. He gazed up at Kaito with eyes that were emotionally damaged over years and years of the same self-taught lie. "Yes." Kaito let a small gasp squirm through his lips. "I thought that if Mom loved you up to the point where I was born then she must've hated me enough to leave you as well."

Kaito walked across the room to Toru slowly out of deep, stinging sadness that took root almost immediately. "That isn't true." He spoke, "That isn't true at all."

Hanon joined Kaito and stood next to him. "Lucia would never hate you, not ever. It's basically a law of nature." She let out a tiny giggle to cheer both males up, but ended up unsuccessful.

"This weather…" Toru began, "I remember it. It was really scary."

Hanon's mouth became slightly agape and she held Toru's shoulders, "Tell me everything that you can possibly remember."

Toru nodded and spoke, "I remember the warm sun and the gritty sand. The salt of the sea stung my eyes, so they were clamped shut the majority of the time. Saw vague shadows fighting with attacks of beautiful and terrible noises." He winced, "It made me want to rip my ears off."

"Did you see a man with silver hair?" There was a hopeful glint in Hanon's eyes, "Or a man with incredibly long hair and six, feathered wings?"

Toru shook his head. "I was little and I'm even surprised about the amount I _do_ remember." He peered over Hanon's shoulder. "If you're done asking me questions, the green haired girl is gone."

Hanon's eyes slowly grew huge as her head turned to see the sea calm and quiet and Rina gone. "R-Rina!" She shouted and ran out to the miniscule balcony that couldn't fit a lawn chair. "RINA!" She yelled out across the rolling waves. Tears welled up in her eyes and she let her head fall into her hands.

Pink Pearl Princess - Acquired

Green Pearl Princess – Acquired

**M-12: Again, I am so sorry that I haven't updated this in, um…five months, but here's a chapter! :3 Thank you for reviewing: PoisonAngel101, MermaidRaven, aotenshi, burgessa, ChronicGamer, Vianna, 101., bluemoon0531, Moko Mogami-chan, BFFofCrazyShopoholicPixe-Alice and, scoliosisr2d2! Your reviews are appreciated and loved. ^-^**

**Editor 2: -sigh- so there was only one major thing that bothered me…………Misha, if you were that afraid of being killed by your loyal fans, you should have just posted it O_o**

**M-12: Okay, since DSB emphasized this so much, Lucia disappeared when Toru was two. Eleven years past. Toru just became thirteen this day.**


	3. Storm

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pichi Pichi Pitch Mermaid Melody. **

**[Bold, Red, Editor Note: O_O isn't it Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch?]**

**M-12: Pichi Pichi Pitch Mermaid Melody is the manga. It doesn't really matter which order they're in, does it?**

**Editor: Sorry for extending the time that Misha has yet to update. I had to deal with exams and stuff for school, sooooo...I didn't have time to edit until quite recently :)**

**Mama's A Mermaid**

Chapter 3 – Storm

Hanon had calmed down, her fists firmly placed on her knees. If her legs were anymore closed together they'd be mended together. "Where could she have gone?" She sniffed softly.

"I don't know," Toru shrugged, not meaning to be rude or insensitive, but utterly failing at being supportive. "She could've gone to the bathroom. I haven't a clue why you and Dad are making such a big deal out of this."

Kaito looked up at Toru from his seat next to Hanon. "It's really important that we know where Rina is and that she's alright."

Toru scoffed, "Are you suggesting she leaped off the balcony? Dad, we're on the sixth floor. We would've seen a splatter of blood or something."

"Toru!" Kaito snapped, "That attitude isn't helping!"

A confused expression took control over Toru's face, "What is the deal?!" He tried not to yell, "The woman couldn't have gotten up to go to the bathroom? She just had a full glass of water; going to the bathroom is a part of a natural body function! Why are you two freaking out?!"

"Keep your voice down." Kaito's temper just about had it. "She isn't in the building."

"Oh, so then she went home?" Toru crossed his arms out of annoyance.

Kaito stood up, "No! I would've seen her! Go to your room, your negative outlook on the situation isn't helping any of us!"

Toru's arms dropped as he stared at Kaito wide eyed and mouth slightly gaping. He stormed off to his room and slammed the door shut.

Kaito sighed and sat back down, "I'm sorry about him, Hanon."

Hanon shook her head, "No, Kaito. He doesn't understand this situation at all. To him, Rina and I are just normal human beings and since he doesn't know about the mermaid princesses or what could happen if disaster's afoot, he's responding the only way he knows how."

Kaito didn't say a word.

Hanon looked up at Kaito's face with all-knowing eyes. "I can understand what he doesn't. You can't keep him in the dark forever." Kaito's face hosted a grim expression. "Either he'll find out on his own and feel betrayed, or you'll tell him and he'll feel less betrayed. It's an emotional lose-lose situation. Even so, you _have_ to tell him, Kaito."

Kaito nodded and stood up again. He sent a relaxed smile in Hanon's direction, "Thanks, I'll go tell him now."

Hanon smiled back. "Just yell if you need any help explaining."

"Will do," Kaito walked to Toru's door and knocked. "Toru, can I come in?" **(1) **There wasn't an answer. "Toru?" Kaito gripped the doorknob and turned it. "Are you in there?" Still no answer.

Kaito's breath caught in his throat. What if he was taken already? What would happen?? Kaito opened the door quickly and ran inside the messy room. "Toru!" He yelled and searched through the pile of clothes and comic books. "TORU!" He yelled louder and Hanon ran in.

She gasped when she saw Kaito searching frantically. "Kaito…" She began, "…where is Toru?"

Kaito grasped at the blankets and threw them off the bed, "I don't know! I can't find him!"

Hanon walked back over to the door and picked up a small sticky note that could hardly stick anymore. She read it aloud, '"I'm going out to surf some more. Sorry for being insensitive. -Toru' Kaito, he just went surfing."

Kaito stopped searching and stood up straight. "…Why didn't he tell me?"

Hanon waved the sticky note around, "He did, Genius. Sure, it was subtle, but at least he made sure that you knew where he was."

Kaito breathed a deep sigh of relief. "At least that."

"Um, Kaito," Hanon paused and waited until Kaito looked up at her, "seeing as Rina just disappeared, isn't it unwise to let Toru leave the house?"

Kaito's eyes grew wide steadily then he rushed out of the room and out of the apartment. He ran down to the beach up to the shore line and yelled at the top of his lungs, "TORU!"

Toru dove under waves, searching for a perfect beauty and was oblivious to the fact that his father was yelling for him.

_Maybe I was being a little rude back there_, Toru thought to himself and noticed the clouds rolling near. He squinted at the far out sea to find a flash of darkness. He jolted backwards, fear over took him. Could it have been a shark? No, the darkness was much bigger and had a worse sensation to it.

Toru gripped his board as he saw the waves around him grow larger and jaggier; the currents yanked and pushed against his legs that hung over the deep abyss below. The water morphed into a sickening swampy green mixed with a deep black with specks of crimson.

Toru's head darted around him; terrified that some sea creature would leap out at him with its teeth ripping at his already goose bumped ridden flesh. He felt like swimming back to shore as fast as he could. He couldn't take it out on this sea; it shrieked danger.

Suddenly, something nudged against his board and Toru felt his heart leap out of his chest. He yelped out and brought his feet on to his board. He suffered from hyperventilation as he dare not look down to see sharp teeth. There was a bump again, but it was stronger and it nearly tipped Toru over. "AUGH!" Toru clung to the board as a little kindergartener would cling to his mother's leg.

Toru saw a ripple on the surface of the water and what looked to be a dorsal fin. He whimpered as he swallowed any breath he may have had. The fin darted at him, swaying back and forth. Toru yelled out, "HELP! ANYONE, HELP ME!" The creature slammed into his board, causing him to fall down into the water.

The coldness of the ocean stung Toru's nerves and the pressure compressed his lungs. He wanted to scream. His limbs flailed around, struggling to find the surface of the water. Toru was finally forced to open his eyes; he saw a glimpse of a large shadow coming for him ever so slowly. He closed his eyes; the salt stung.

His lungs couldn't take it anymore. He opened his mouth and the salt water poured in. Toru attempted to cough up the water, but ended up sinking deeper and losing consciousness.

Toru woke to see three women staring down at him. He gripped the ground and found that he was on the beach without any wounds. He looked back up at the women. He only recognized Hanon, but the other two were a mystery.

Toru sat up and held his board then looked at the two new women. They looked so similar, they could've been twins. He stared at them in a confused fashion.

"Toru," Hanon spoke and motioned to the wavy, navy blue-haired woman with sweet, aquamarine eyes, "This is Noel and her sister," She motioned to the woman with dark purple hair in medium length ringlets, complementing her pair of stern, purple eyes, "Caren."

Toru looked closely at what was hanging around each female's neck, "…Why do you all have matching necklaces? And did you all dye your hair or something?"

Hanon stared at Toru seriously. "Toru, this may be a little bit hard to understand, but…" She paused.

Toru looked at Noel and Caren, but they just pointed him back to Hanon. "What is it?"

"Your mother was the mermaid princess of the North Pacific ocean." Hanon let loose a sigh as she watched Toru stare blankly back at her. Then he burst out laughing. "What are you laughing about? This is serious!"

"Yeah," Toru's laughing stilled, "seriously unbelievable. Mermaids do not exist."

Caren glared at Toru, "Mermaids exist."

"Prove it," Toru scoffed.

"If I'm able to prove this, then I expect twenty dollars in return." Caren crossed her arms.

Toru stared at her for a few seconds before speaking, "You're on."

Without another word, Caren strolled to the water's edge then slipped in. Toru gasped as Caren's two legs morphed into one long, wondrous mermaid tail; her medium, dark purple hair grew down to her ankles and became pastel lavender. She stuck her tongue out at Toru. "You owe me twenty bucks."

Toru stuttered, making Noel stand and walk into the water as well. Her hair grew longer and brighter just as Caren's did. Toru looked up at Hanon with a terrified expression. Hanon sighed and joined Noel and Caren in the water.

Toru stood slowly and walked over to the mermaids. He poked each one everywhere except for those inappropriate. "Y-you're all real…" He gaped as the three nodded slowly. "Wait, then…if my mother was the so-called mermaid princess of the North Pacific Ocean, then shouldn't I be a mermaid as well?"

Caren snickered, "Not unless you wanted to wear a bra."

Toru's eyes narrowed, "I meant merman."

"You mean merboy," Caren corrected.

Toru groaned. "I mean a male with a fish fin instead of feet!"

"Tail," Caren stared politely, loving it how easy it was to annoy Toru.

Hanon muttered to herself, "There are no mermen in the mermaid world…" **(2) **He stared back at Caren then turned around and dragged his board back to the apartment. Hanon winced, "Caren, I think you teased him a little too much. He has a lot on his plate right now."

Caren sat down in the cool, refreshing water, "Then he'd better eat everything on his plate before it gets stolen away."

Noel bit her lip and stared worriedly after Toru, "Caren does have a point. We don't exactly have enough time for him to digest the information."

Hanon stared blankly at Noel, "Enough with the food puns." Both Noel and Caren shrugged and grew silent.

**M-12: No mermaid princesses acquired this chapter…**

**Editor 2: Oh no, it's TRAGIC. The princesses are safe. When's Prince Charming gonna come and save them all? Or will you make this like Why Me and make it go on forever, and end up saving no one?**

**M-12: -.- Bite me. Prince Charming? :3 Hah. I see no Prince Charming. (stares at the story) O-O holy crap…please tell me I'm not making this like Why Me…**

**Key:**

**(1): No, Kaito. No. No you cannot go into Toru's room. It's physically impossible.**

**(2): I've read through the manga again and it turns out that it's said that there are no mermen in the mermaid world. That's why they wear skimpy bras. :D**


	4. Gackto

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pichi Pichi Pitch Mermaid Melody.**

**Editor: Okay, sorry for the wait, people . I actually got this chapter the same day I edited the third, but then I came down with the flu so I couldn't edit…Just started feeling better yesterday…Anyway, enjoy!**

**Mama's A Mermaid**

Chapter 4 – Gackto

Toru stormed into the apartment that had been his home since he was born. The dirty blonde strands side swept across his crystal clear, aquamarine hued eyes.

"Dad," He called out to the empty apartment. After many minutes of no sound he called again, "Dad," he spoke a little louder before searching around. "He isn't here…" Toru concluded. "Why isn't he here?" He gasped then looked out the sliding glass door. There was the stormy weather before. It had happened just when Rina disappeared and it happened directly after his mother disappeared.

Everything was normal in his twelve year old life, except for the fact that his birthday was today, making him thirteen. His mother was a mermaid and both ofhis parents were missing.

"Dad…" Toru stared sadly out of the sliding glass door. He wiped his eyes then remembered the pink candy his father never allowed him to see, much less touch. Without a second thought, Toru ran into his parents' room and found the pink pearl in a rectangular prism connected to a chain. It was old, but sturdy. "Why didn't Dad want me to touch this?" Toru asked himself.

He glanced around and made sure that the three mermaids he had just recently met wouldn't come knocking on his door any time soon then he opened the small prism. The pink pearl was surrounded by a healthy glow when it made contact with Toru's skin. A wave of happiness and relaxation flooded Toru. A soft smile rose on his face and his eyes welled with tears.

"This is the feeling of the North Pacific Ocean," Toru spoke quietly. He gently pulled the pearl close to him and let it rest in his fingers that pressed against his chest. "It's so warm and calming. Maybe this is what Mom felt like and why Dad loved her so." He held his happiness in his arms a little longer then a creak sounded throughout the apartment.

Toru gasped then looked around. It had gotten darker and the sea was a black pit of nothingness. He immediately slipped the pearl back into the miniscule prism and hung it around his neck, taking care to hide it in his shirt.

He stepped out of his parents' room and into the living room. "Hello?" He asked the darkness. A chill engraved and sliced into his spine. The shadows moved as if they were little dragons, spinning around on the walls and furniture.

"He looks like the pink pearl princess," A voice rang out, sending more chills down his spine.

Toru turned towards it, fear seeping into his trembling structure. "Who's there?"

A younger voice perked up, "Aw, he's scared."

"No, I'm not!" Toru backed up into a corner of the room.

"I wouldn't go in that direction, if I were you." A womanly voice whispered from across the room.

A creepy voice mixed with a sweet tone, spinning back and forth resounded behind him, "We have him cornered!"

Toru let out a small yelp then he darted to the sliding glass door. He halted then slowly looked up with huge, horrified eyes.

A tall man with slick, dark pants loomed over Toru. His long, furry, black cloak hugged his body and arms then flared out at his hips down and from his shoulders up. His jeweled necklace looked like it pierced into his skin, which looked as if it had never seen the daylight. His smooth, silver hair flared out from the top of his ears, which were adorned with golden earrings. To top it off, his ominous, crimson eyes meant death to whoever stared for too long.

He glanced behind himself then down at Toru, "Surely," His voice made Toru wince, "you don't plan on going out there all by yourself."

Normally, Toru would've shrunk back in fear, but he stood his ground…barely. He gulped and nodded.

"Heh," The man's eyes narrowed with amusement. "I can take you to your parents, but I need a little something in return."

Toru gasped. Could this creepy guy really take him to his dad and long lost mother? "Can you…do that?"

The man's smile curled into an evil smirk. "Yes, I can, but the little trinket you possess is necessary for the travel." He held out his hand.

Toru stared down at the man's hand then up into his entrancing eyes. "Who are you?"

"I am Gackto, the prince of Panthalassa," The man, or Gackto, answered.

Toru scrunched up his nose, "That sounds made up."

Gackto glared at Toru sending a shiver down the young boy's spine. "Give me the pearl."

"What pearl?" Toru was terrified, but he couldn't afford to show it. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Gackto glared for a few minutes then stopped. He stood up straight with his hands at his side, one warming the stem of a rose, the other clinging to an intricate staff. Gackto opened his mouth and that requiem from eleven years before pierced open Toru's skull.

Toru fell to the floor, clutching his ears. His mouth was twisted into a pained grimace and his eyes were clamped shut. "St-stop!" He yelled, "Stop singing!"

Gackto stopped his singing then knelt down to Toru's eye level. "Give me the pink pearl." Toru didn't answer, but his expression relaxed. "Give it to me," His voice rose louder. Toru cringed but didn't move. "If you won't give it to me willingly, we'll have to tear apart this pitiful apartment looking for it." When Toru didn't answer again, Gackto motioned to the voices in the room and the place was torn apart.

Toru could only stare at the floor in complete anguish. He knew where the pearl was, but he couldn't hand it over to Gackto. He just couldn't; there was a feeling that made him think that it wasn't the right thing to do.

After searching every square inch of the apartment, Gackto grabbed Toru's chin and glared into his eyes, "Where is the pearl?" He growled. He obviously wasn't pleased. "It wasn't with your mother or with your father…so…it must be with you." He felt the chain that led down under Toru's shirt.

Toru stood and backed away from Gackto, "I don't have it."

Gackto walked towards him and with every step forward, Toru took two steps back. "I know you have it, whelp," Gackto grew excited, knowing that he was about to have yet another pearl in his possession. "Hand it over."

Toru stopped backing away and glared at Gackto. It was as if a different force took over him. "I'd rather die than hand over my kingdom to you, Gackto." The force disappeared and Toru's eyes widened. What had just happened??

Gackto glared and hissed, "The Pink Pearl Princess spoke that way to me. I wasn't pleased by it."

"Tough." Toru glared back.

Gackto darted at Toru and pinned his shoulders against the wall. "I don't want to remove your limbs. Give me that pearl-" Suddenly, the pink pearl shined brightly enough to see clearly through Toru's shirt. "There it is." Gackto said with a pleased smirk. He held his hand above the collar of the shirt and the pink pearl floated up with the prism around it.

"No!" Toru squirmed against Gackto's strength. He became free then grabbed and held the prism as he ran to the other side of the room and stopped. "You'll never have this pearl!"

Gackto's voice grew even darker, "**Maria, Izuuru, restrain him**."

Toru's face grew confused. There were only Gackto and himself in the room, where would a Maria or an Izuuru come in? Toru was then pinned against the wall, his right arm was guarded by a blonde haired ice woman and the left arm was trapped by a woman with long, dark, wavy hair adorned with pink highlights and a monstrous tail. Toru looked up to see Gackto slowly walk towards him.

Fear crept in again. What would Gackto do when he stopped in front of Toru? Would he cut him? Bruise him? Or worse?

Toru tried to push himself farther back into the wall when Gackto stopped just a foot away from him. "Why so skittish?" Gackto let out an amused laugh. "Relax, I'm not going to kill you…yet." Toru stopped breathing; the pressure and fear building up was too much to bear. Gackto reached out at Toru's shirt for the shining, pink pearl.

Suddenly, the door slammed open with the help of two gorgeous voices. Gackto and the other two women, Maria and Izuuru winced and glared at the doorway. Toru merely watched in awe.

The two, singing females wore matching short, strapless dresses; they sang until Gackto, Maria, and Izuuru couldn't stand it anymore and left without harming Toru.

Toru stared, his eyes huge and his mouth gaping once more. He watched as the two females morphed back into Noel and Caren. "Miss Noel, Miss Caren…What were you two doing in that get up?"

"Toru," Noel stared straight through Toru's eyes, "this is how we fight them off, those who want to take over the sea. Being mermaid princesses, we must protect the seas. Did you hand over the pink pearl?"

Toru shook his head profusely, "No, I'd never. The last thing I want to do is hand this precious pearl over to that fake prince."

"Good," Caren smiled, "then you won't mind fighting with us."

Toru stared blankly, "Good one." He spoke. "There is no way I'm going to dress up in a frilly miniskirt and low cut corset to sing with you girls."

"But…Toru…" Noel spoke sadly, "You must. It's your duty, you have to. We just lost Hanon…" She sniffed. "We'll lose each other if you can't help!"

Toru sighed, "Miss Noel… If you and your sister had to bail me out just now then I really am no help you two."

"Toru," Caren hissed.

"No!" Toru clutched the pink pearl. "I'll protect this one as best as I can! Relying on others would keep my guard down! I need to become stronger and then fight back."

"Hey, don't cut me off-"

"I said no!" Caren was cut off by Toru. He walked past the two mermaid princesses, "I won't fight. I'll play defense." He slammed the door shut behind him and leaned on the door for a few minutes. "…I must be out of my mind." He groaned and opened the door again.

The sliding glass door was broken and both twins were gone. "…Oh for God's sake," Toru sunk to his knees. "They're gone, too?" He stared down at the floor with anger flaring in his eyes then he stood and ran to the balcony. He leaned out and yelled at the storm that was disappearing, "JUST YOU WAIT, GACKTO! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Aquamarine Pearl Princess – Acquired

Indigo Pearl Princess – Acquired

Purple Pearl Princess – Acquired

**Editor: *cough cough* stupid flu x.x…**

**M-12: Thanks for editing, DSB! …sorry that you're sick…I hope you get better!**


	5. Strangers

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pichi Pichi Pitch Mermaid Melody or the title Disney.**

**M-12: SHROOMS! 8DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD**

**Mama's A Mermaid**

Chapter 5 – Strangers

After vowing to destroy Gackto, Toru sunk back past the shattered glass door into a chair and glanced around the apartment. He couldn't stay there anymore; it was a sure-fire way to get caught. He didn't have Karen or Noel to bail him out again, so it was far too risky to stay. Toru stood and walked to his room slowly, dodging glass on his way. He packed his few belongings that were not demolished and he did so with an aura that switched back and forth from gloom to hatred then back to gloom. He pulled his duffel bag onto his shoulder and staggered to his parents' room while collecting all the money he could possibly find and then walked out of the apartment. He refused to look back at the cluttered mess, instead he charged onward to a place where he could stay and train until it was time to fight back.

Toru failed at making an impression at the first few households and nearly destroyed two businesses by being slightly clumsy. Tired of walking all night, Toru dropped his duffel bag on the sidewalk and sat down next to it. He stared at the sidewalk; anything that was solid looked good enough to sleep on, so he slowly leaned over and lay down on the side of the road, using his duffel bag as a pillow. His eyes closed quickly and refused to open until Toru had gotten a few hours of sleep. **(1) **

The following day, Toru opened his eyes slowly to a river of sunlight streaming into the room he was sleeping in. He snuggled his head into the soft pillow and started to drift back to his dreams again, until he actually noticed that he was, in fact, sleeping in a room instead of on the sidewalk he had fallen asleep on the previous night. Toru's eyes bolted open and he sat up immediately. Glancing around, he figured that he was in one of the few hotels that he hadn't maimed. His torso swayed from side to side sleepily as he slowly lay back down in the comfy bed again. A thought emerged right before Toru sat up again, "The pearl!" He felt his chest for the pink pearl and sighed in relief when he felt the small prism that housed his beloved trinket. "Safe."

"Are you alright?" A woman with spiky, purple hair with big, brown eyes stood in the doorway, holding Toru's duffel bag.

Toru blinked and stared blankly at the fully developed woman, trying to keep his eyes staring into hers instead of at other unmentionable places. "I'm f-fine." His voice trailed off as he remembered he was probably an orphan. He wiped his eyes and the woman walked over to him.

She placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled sweetly, "You must've been through a lot."

Toru shook his head from side to side then stared at his hands clutching the sheets into an untidy bunch. "No, not really…" He muttered to himself with his eyes dull with sadness, "I just may be a stray right now."

The woman bit her bottom lip, "You know," She thought aloud, "you can stay here if you like."

Toru stared at her with large, innocent eyes. "But I can't afford that." He argued, "I only have so much money. I'm not even old enough to work anywhere."

She stood up, now confident with her hands warming her hips. "If that's the case, we can give you a job here, at Pearl Piari. My name is Nikora Nanami and I'm the manager of this hotel."

Toru kept staring blankly as the grip on the sheets loosened. "Ms. Nanami."

"You can just call me Nikora, you know."

"Ms. Nikora, you said 'we' and I only see you. Aren't you the highest authority here?" Toru questioned as he pulled a shirt over his head.

Nikora turned away as Toru yanked on his pants. "Well, somewhat, yes. Before I do give you a job here, I strongly advise you go see the owner, Madame Taki. She may be able to help you out."

Toru nodded and stood up, hiding his trinket in his shirt again. "I'll go do that now…Who undressed me?"

A young man poked his head through the doorway. "I did." His spiky blonde hair shaded his bright, neon green eyes. "You squirmed a lot."

"…Thank you?" Toru wasn't sure if he was supposed to be terrified or thankful that he didn't have to sleep uncomfortably. "Who are you?"

The young man walked into the room, "I'm Hippo."

"No really." Toru smiled normally, trying to be polite.

Hippo stared back at Toru. His mouth was slightly agape as he spoke, "Really. My name is Hippo."

"Seriously?" Toru's smile grew crooked and unsure, "Your name is Hippo?" Hippo nodded slowly as if Toru was just a little dense. "Wow."

Hippo's cheeks puffed out with annoyance, "You must be one of the most disrespectful brats I have ever laid eyes on."

"Isn't that just a bit hypocritical?" Toru asked, his smile was replaced with a perplexed expression.

Hippo stood his ground and glared lightly, "Oh, so now you're making puns?"

Toru winced at his mistake that could otherwise be known as a rather pathetic and poorly told pun, "Um, Ms. Nikora, I think I'll just go see Madame Taki now." He walked out of the room and closed the door, leaving it open just an inch to eavesdrop, if necessary.

"Nikora," A stubby voice took over after a short poof, "are you sure that he's Lucia's and Kaito's son?"

The bed springs sounded, obviously Nikora had sat down on the bed, "I wouldn't doubt it, Hippo. He looks like Lucia and he has the North Pacific pearl."

"That's no excuse!" The stubby voice bellowed.

Toru peaked in to see that a small, blue penguin with incredibly large eyes had taken Hippo's place. His eyes widened at the sight. Hippo was a penguin? That didn't make any sense. A penguin named Hippo? "That's so…" Toru whispered to himself and his sentence trailed off.

He saw one, large, black eye turn and stare straight into his own eyes. Toru closed the door and quickly walked down the hall to where ever Madame Taki was. When he did find her, he spoke with her and asked what he could possibly do with all that he had to deal with. He asked how he could get a substantial job with high pay, as well. "I suggest," Madame Taki spoke while peering into her crystal ball, "that you should do what your heart chooses."

Toru blinked then gazed at the crystal ball deeply wondering if it was stuck on a Disney spree. "'I should do what my heart chooses'? You're just going to give me something _that _open-ended?" He tapped the crystal ball lightly.

Madame Taki glanced at Toru's shirt. There was a faint, pink glow emerging from the pearl. She smiled slightly and continued to 'read' what was 'written' in the crystal ball. "Keep the object you love the most close to your heart."

Toru sighed; Madame Taki was obviously no help for him. He already knew that he needed to keep the pink pearl safe from Gackto's clutches, but what would his heart choose as an occupation? Run off, find a beautiful princess, sweep her off her feet, and then ride off into the sunset on a noble steed? No, maybe something a little more realistic with a twist of unnatural love, that'd be plausible. Toru shook his head lightly, trying to disperse unnecessary thoughts from his mind. "Thank you, Madame Taki." He stood. "I'll just work here until I find what my heart yearns for." He left the hotel to walk down to the beach. Toru kicked a few piles of sand, causing it to flow up into the air and circle him. He sat on the dry sand; right before the wet sand and then the actual ocean. "This is it," he sighed. "No parental supervision or nagging or…" He trailed off and looked at the water sadly. "I miss them… What does Gackto want with them?!" Toru stood up with rage overtaking him.

"Sister Sheshe, I think that child is a little frustrated," A light, feminine voice appeared over the waves.

"I agree, Sister Mimi." A more developed voice accompanied the first voice.

Toru's eyes enlarged slowly as he forgot his anger. The last time he heard strange voices was the night Gackto showed up to steal the pearl away from him. He glanced around quickly, making sure that he was far away from any type of enemy in the surrounding areas. "Show yourselves!" Toru commanded and stood his ground firmly.

Two females in skintight clothing stepped out from under the waves. The taller and obviously older female introduced herself, "I am Sister Sheshe." Her straight, red hair flowed in the salty sea air and her cold, ice blue eyes inspected Toru.

The other girl stepped forward, "I am Sister Mimi." Her short, pale blue hair bounced in the breeze and her crimson eyes couldn't help but to glance around with a slight curiosity.

"We are known as the Black Beauty Sisters." Sheshe's face hosted an amused smile, "You must be Toru." Toru didn't speak, nor did he step away from the two sisters.

"Sheshe," Mimi spoke up as her eyes scrutinized Toru, "he seems a little tense." A devious smile curled onto her lips. "Maybe a little duet would help him relax."

Sheshe smiled sweetly at Mimi. "What a thoughtful idea, Mimi." She looked back up at Toru with an unfriendly glint in her eye that complemented the rough waters behind them. "We'll sing for him." Her tail perked up and Sheshe's hand warmed the mike that was on the end.

Mimi grabbed her thin tail and wrapped her fingers around the cold mike. They both smiled deviously and their voices rang out, "It's show time!" As soon as their mouths opened again, a sickening melody slithered out. **(2) **Toru's hands clamped onto his ears and he kneeled down, signifying unintentional submission. He moaned in pain and fell with his stomach in the sand. He hadn't any strength left to keep his ears covered. His eyes closed and he suddenly heard a few notes of a heavenly song before blacking out.

Toru's eyes opened slowly and he found that he was in the same bed that he had woken up in earlier that same morning. He sat up and rubbed his eyes then glanced down at the covers to find an orange haired girl that was a few years older than him with her head in her arms. He inspected her curiously. His fingers slipped through her hair, holding a few strands of her hair to his face. His eyes widened; the ginger strands smelt of the sea, but it was far too smooth and glorious to have gone into the ocean's waters. Toru let the hair fall down to the girl's side and he stroked her bangs away from her sleeping face. "Hello?" He asked quietly, almost afraid to wake her; changing the angelic expression. "Excuse me?" He said a little louder.

Her eyes opened slowly then stared up at Toru innocently. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "I'm sorry. I was supposed to tell everyone when you woke up. I guess I fell asleep, too." She gave a nervous laugh.

"No, it's perfectly alri-…everyone?" Toru inquired. A feeling of uneasiness overtook him.

The girl nodded, "Yeah, there's Nikora, Madame Taki, Hippo, and Coco."

Toru reviewed the names. He had met Nikora, Madame Taki, and-unfortunately for him-Hippo, but no Coco. "Thanks for telling me."

The girl smiled and stood up. "No problem, I'm going to go tell them now." She walked to the door and opened it.

"Wait," Toru held up a hand as if it'd immediately stop her. The hand motion did make the girl turn around with a questioning look on her face. "I didn't catch your name."

She smiled and answered. "My name is Seira."

Toru's hand fell down into his lap. He was having a difficult time controlling himself. "I'm-"

"Toru, I know." Seira walked out of the room, "Enjoy your stay at the Pearl Piari." The door shut.

He fell back into the pillow, "Wow," he whispered. "…Wait a sec…" He sat up and jumped out of the bed. "How did she know that my name was Toru? That was the first I've ever seen her…" Toru opened the door and muttered to himself, "How very-"

A blonde haired beauty stared into his eyes from her place a foot away from him. "Hi, I was coming to get you." She smiled as her straight hair fell over her shoulder.

"…peculiar." Toru finished his previous sentence under his breath. "Who are you and how do you know my name is Toru?"

The blonde, seemingly older than Seira, cocked her head to the side. "How did you know I knew your name?"

Toru stared at her, confused again then walked back into the room, "Is there a newspaper somewhere stated 'Supposed Orphan: Toru Domoto'? Does it have an entire article under it describing my life story?"

"Actually," the girl held up a small card, "your I.D. fell out of your wallet…"

Toru stared at the I.D. and plucked it from the girl's fingers. "I dislike being kept in the dark. Could you tell me your name?"

The girl smiled and stood in the doorway happily. "I'm Coco. I guess we'll see you downstairs?"

Toru nodded after a little hesitation. Coco's bright smile softened as she stepped out of the room and closed the door. Toru stared out the window, waiting for the next event, predicting if he'd be hurt, kidnapped, killed, or maybe worse.

**M-12: Okay, DSB, I'm sorry, but I can't wait any longer for you to edit this chapter. I've read it over many, many, many times and corrected everything I thought that needed to be corrected. PLEASE come back from camp soon, I NEED you to edit the next chapter. R&R, everyone!**

**Key:**

**(1): *looks at clock* Clock: 4:47 a.m. M-12: …….GRAR. *half asleep***

**(2): B-but….I LOVE the Black Beauty Sisters' song. D'X *looks at the clock* …4:13 a.m. Pssh, I'm not tired yet. *yawns***


	6. Suspicion

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pichi Pichi Pitch Mermaid Melody, the song Dani California, and Through the Fire and Flames by Dragonforce. :D …could someone tell me who sang Dani California? 3':**

**M-12: Hello, everyone, right now I'm lying on my stomach in my grandparents' house in Mississippi. I was told that we were going to go fishing in a few hours when it cools off. Summer heat kills. KILLS, I TELL YOU. KILLS! Their house is on a small farm, there are crops, chickens, and some other type of bird that I can't spell…They're very interesting birds, though. I believe they have four or five of them. THE CHICKENS LAY COLORED EGGS. Anyway…I think people are tired about reading-if they even bothered to-about my grandparents' farm. Those who were patient and read will receive a cookie. :D**

**Editor: *cries* I'm sorry, people!!! I got this chappie about a month ago…but I was away for a month without the internet (basically) so I didn't get a chance to read nor edit… Which is why I did not appear in chapter 5 (I know, I know, you all missed me dreadfully)**

**Mama's A Mermaid**

Chapter 6 – Suspicion

Five years had past since Toru had come to Pearl Piari. The mermaids were able to keep their secret from him with excuses that have grown old and unreliable. Toru was now eighteen and a lead singer in a band. They played hard metal and whenever Toru would invite the girls to listen to the band's music, they turned him down politely. Honestly, it was beginning to bug him.

"Please, Coco?" Toru begged, "Please, please, please critic us!"

"Sorry, Toru, but I have to go…" Coco tried to walk around Toru. Toru kept blocking her from going any farther with his hands clasped together complementing a puppy dog pout on his face. "Hey, look!" The yellow mermaid princess of the South Pacific pointed past Toru. "It's Seira! Look, look, quick!"

Toru turned and saw Seira frozen in the hallway, mentally cursing Coco for pointing her out. Toru looked back at Coco, but she was gone. A few strands of golden blonde hair turned the corner as Toru sighed. "Seira," He turned to her, but she was gone as well.

Seira stood in her room, up against the now closed door, thanking God that Toru looked away.

Toru stared at the ground sadly. He couldn't figure out why neither Coco nor Seira wanted to hear him sing. Sure, they were both a few years older than him, but that didn't mean that he didn't want them to hear his voice.

He walked down the hall and nearly stumbled down the stairs. His clumsiness continued to shock him over the years. His father was never this clumsy so he couldn't have gotten it from him. He must've gotten it from his mother.

Toru's face twisted into an angry frown as he stormed off to the empty warehouse him and the band played at. He pulled open the door and stared at the so-called musical geniuses that were either sitting on a pile of boxes stacked high to the ceiling, hanging from said ceiling, or the two teens that were actually practicing.

"Hey, it's Toru!" A flaming red head with burnt tips and pearly white roots peeked out from the pile of boxes he was playing hide and seek in. He was the guitarist.

The bass player looked up from tuning as the semi red head jumped down next to him. The two were twins and the only difference between them was that the younger twin's hair consisted of blue strands instead of the red ones that his older brother hosted.

"Hiroki, pipe down." The younger twin groaned. "Your voice is going to drive everyone insane."

Hiroki, the flaming head, frowned in a childish way, "But Katsuuuuuuuuuuuu, I'm the god among men."

Toru closed the door tightly, hoping to keep their presence secret. The purple headed keyboarder glared up at the twins, more specifically Hiroki. "You just keep telling yourself that."

The second guitarist placed his arm over Hiroki's shoulders, "Aw, lighten up, Aki. He's just messing around. He knows that I'mthe _true_ god among men." His blonde hair bounced in front of his bright green eyes.

"I'm sure." A tanned black haired teen stood next to Toru.

Toru jumped then slowly turned to face the drummer. "How do you do that?"

"He's a shadow." Hiroki smiled his usual, ego-filled, juvenile smile.

"But shh! Don't tell yourself." The blonde laughed with a finger on his lips.

Katsu stared at them awkwardly. "Do you two have any idea how gay you look right now?"

Aki looked up from his book, "They are best friends of course they are gay." He set his book down on his keyboard and then gave Toru his attention. "Hello, Toru. You just joined our…" He glanced around. "…band, if that is what you call it. Let us see if you can remember our names from last time."

Toru set down his bag that held his microphone carefully and gazed at each person. He first pointed to the black haired teen that stood next to him, "You're Shadow…and…are you seriously a shadow? I've been wondering… You keep sneaking up on everyone and you're surprisingly good at it."

Shadow shrugged and gave a light laugh. "It's fun for me and I'm human."

"Liaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar," Hiroki whispered.

"He's a witch! Burn him!" The blonde snickered along with Hiroki.

Hiroki cocked his head to the side, "How do you know that?"

The blonde's American accent turned British at his statement, "He turned me into a newt." Everyone stared at him awkwardly except Hiroki. To them, it was great fun. "I got better..."

Toru stared blankly at them yet again. He pointed to them, "Hiroki and Ryuu."

Ryuu's mouth gaped. "He knows our names…"

Hiroki threw his hands up in the air. "We're cursed!"

"NOO!" Ryuu's hands clasped on to his cheeks. "I haven't totaled a car yet!"

"I have," Hiroki laughed a bit as he went over the incident in his head, "That was a mess."

"The best mustang our boss owned." Katsu's narrowed eyes complemented a disgusted sneer at Hiroki. "I'm not surprised that he beheaded you."

Toru laughed a bit while the other band members looked at him seriously. "…Why are you staring at me?" His eyes grew wide. "Y-your boss beheaded you?" **(1)**

Hiroki's mouth slowly opened as he held up his index finger to speak. Ryuu interrupted his almost sentence, "Where are the girls you promised us? You said that there would be two beautiful women coming with you."

Toru took his mike from his bag and placed it in the microphone stand. "Um…they couldn't make it." He glanced around to make sure that each band member was in place. "Hey, where's Shadow?"

"Present." Shadow raised his fist in the air that held a drumstick.

Toru jumped slightly again, "HOW?" Shadow shrugged. Toru shook his head and faced the mike. "Which song?"

"Dani California." Hiroki suggested.

Toru laughed, "Good one. No, seriously? Which song are we playing?"

"Through the Fire and Flames," Ryuu smiled deviously. "I can handle it. I don't know if Hiroki can, though." Hiroki pouted childishly.

Toru shrugged and sighed. "Through the Fire and Flames it is, then. Three, two, one."

Ryuu and Hiroki opened up with a battle of the music that fought back and forth between them at the most random times, having Katsu and Shadow tie them together in melody with a beat. Aki stood in front of them all keeping the pace while reading his book.

Seira stood in front of the warehouse door with Coco standing next to her. "Should we go in?" Seira asked while looking up at Coco.

"I don't know." Coco bit her lip. "It sounds different from what we sing. Maybe we should go in, I mean, what's the harm? He's bound to find out that we're mermaid princesses sooner or later."

Seira hesitantly nodded and pushed the door open, knocking Aki down. Aki stopped the beat and left Hiroki and Ryuu to finish off with a dramatic few notes before putting down their guitars. Katsu only rolled his eyes at their behavior and set his bass down. Shadow placed his drumsticks down on the floor and stood for the two ladies that had just walked in.

Toru smiled, "Seira, Coco, you both came."

Hiroki's regular smile turned suave. "Now, since the ladies are here, I'd like to try out a tune. Could you help me, Aki?"

Aki stood up and muttered. "Abstinence is the key to that happiness, you know, the thing that you'll never find."

Hiroki groaned slightly. "No, I meant with a techno tune. It sounds pretty cool, if I do say so myself." He pulled out his iPod and gave Aki an ear bud. Both Aki and Hiroki placed the bud in their ear and waited for the music.

The music played and Aki smiled lightly. "That does sound cool. Let me see if I can bring it up on my board." Aki took the ear bud out of his ear and walked into a different room. He messed with a techno board and spoke into the mike. "No wonder you like this. It sounds as if someone threw a bat and a graveyard into a blender and turned it on obliterate. Ready to hear it, everyone?"

There were slow nods scattered about the room and Aki flipped a switch, sending the blasting music outside the tiny room he was in. The sound from five years earlier bled into Toru's ears.

He dropped his mike and clutched his ears, yelling for Aki to stop the music. He looked over to see Coco and Seira holding their ears as well and kneeling on the floor. Toru looked back at the door that Aki had walked through and yelled, "AKI, TURN OFF THAT MUSIC!"

The music shut off and Aki opened the door. "Did someone say something?"

Toru stood up, obviously angry. "What the Hell are you making us listen to?!"

The rest of the band members looked at Toru questioningly. "It sounds pretty awesome to me, Toru." Ryuu frowned. "What's wrong?"

"It sucks, okay?!" Toru hissed, "Just…" He sighed. "Never mind, it's a long story." He helped Coco and Seira stand. "I think I should go now."

Shadow held the door open for them. "Sorry to see you go. I guess we'll see you next time?"

Toru nodded and bit his lip as he walked out the door and helped Coco and Seira back to Pearl Piari. After all, he'd need them conscious to question them.

Toru sat in a chair next to the couch that Seira was lying on. He watched as her eyes opened. She smiled, "Hi, Toru."

Toru's face didn't look a least bit amused. "Can your ears not take the music?"

Seira's smile turned a bit awkward, "That music just wasn't to my taste…"

"Why?" He demanded to know.

**M-12: Okay, I only wanted Toru in there as one OC. Just ONE, but apparently that failed epically. I'm sorry for adding my others in as the band members! …Why are the only OCs in there guys…?**

**(1): (shifty eyes) ….I dunno…. Hiroki: yes. Decapitation kills. Lord Aiden then brought me back to yell at me some more.**

**Editor 2: I think I'm constantly changing where my comments go…Oh well, whatever, here you go, have fun, go crazy, whatever you call it.**

**M-12: Go nuts! 8D Oh, and I reread the reviews that I received for chapter five. I thank you all for submitting so many reviews. :3 But there was a certain anonymous review that intrigued me.**

**TO PINKPEARLMEW:**

**I would appreciate it if you tone down your caps lock button. I will only follow what the manga says. I'm only following the anime for the fact that the mermaids live in a hotel. In the manga, "Gaito"'s name is "Gackto", but it is revealed later in the book series that his real, true name is "Gackuto". I'm just calling him "Gackto" right now. On a more annoyed note, I would appreciate it if you didn't pick on **_**any**_** of my reviewers and that includes MermaidRaven. To sum this up, PinkPearlMew, be polite. No one likes someone that points out a twig in someone's eye when they have a two by four in their own. That is all.**


	7. Truth

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch.**

**M-12: *stares up at the ceiling in anguish* …PAIN… …MENTAL PAIN…**

**Mama's A Mermaid**

Chapter 7 – Truth

Seira stared at Toru wide eyed as she settled down in her seat, "Toru, why do you look so serious?" She gave out a nervous laugh, but it didn't faze Toru.

"I want to know why you couldn't take that music that Aki played over the loudspeakers," He crossed his arms and stood. He walked over to Seira and bent down to her eye level. "Why did you react the same way I did?" His eyes narrowed.

Seira could only stare up at Toru with a façade of confusion. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Toru held Seria's shoulders tightly and stared into her eyes, "Tell me what you know about me! Tell me why that music hurts so much!"

Seira winced, "That hurts! Stop it, Toru!"

"Tell me!" Toru yelled.

Coco yanked Toru away from Seira and smacked him. "Don't treat Seira that way." Toru stared at the floor while holding his warm cheek. "None of us should be treated that way."

Toru looked up at Coco, "Why?" His voice was softer than it was before.

Coco's eyes enlarged just a bit and wondered how to answer Toru's question without revealing anything. "We're all equals. Treat others the way you want to be treated. That's the basic rule."

Toru huffed, "That's no answer."

"You shouldn't be picky. You asked for an answer and I gave you one." Coco's voice rose. Seira just stared, hoping that Toru wouldn't grow wise or nosy enough to figure anything out. "Just go to your room. You're acting spoiled."

Toru stared up at Coco with an annoyed expression, "You don't have to tell me what to do."

"I said go to your room!" Coco commanded.

"Lay off!" Toru yelled back, "You're not my mother so don't pretend to be one!" He stormed off to his room and slammed the door shut. "How can they possibly understand," He yelled and threw items all around. "How can they not see…?" He fell to his knees and held the old prism which contained his greatest treasure all these years, "I want to know what's going on. I have a right to know why exactly my parents were stolen from me and to know this pearl's secrets."

There were sounds coming from downstairs. Storming footsteps, banging on the walls…and breaking glass? Toru opened his door a crack, but was shocked when the door was slammed shut and locked from the outside.

Coco pressed her hands to the door and whispered to Toru, "Toru, stay in here and don't make a sound. Once it's quiet, climb out your window and escape, okay?" He hadn't a clue as to what was happening, but Toru agreed anyway. "Good, now stay quiet."

"But Coco-!" Toru nearly argued, but a bang on the door made him recoil.

"You thought you could escape me, my pretty, yellow, mermaid princess." A womanly voice spoke, satisfied with her find.

"Nice job, Maria!" A juvenile voice perked up and grew louder as she walked closer to Maria and Coco.

Maria held Coco tightly in her icy arms and looked back at the child. "Hello, Yuri. Did you get the orange princess?"

Yuri's smile faded, "Um…no, no I haven't."

"Yuri!" Maria nagged and mended Coco's wrists together with ice.

"I'm sorry, but the only person I saw here was this yellow princess that you're holding captive right now!" Yuri argued and stated her situation. "Besides, after we take this princess back to Gackto, then we'll only have the orange princess left to capture. It'll be easy if we do it all at once." Her emerald eyes glinted with mischief. "It'll be just as fun as when we scared that little prince." She giggled ominously.

"Oh yes," Maria laughed, "I do remember that. That poor kid was freaked out of his mind."

Coco hissed, "That isn't nice! Toru was frightened and all you can do is laugh at him!"

Toru pressed his ear to the door as silently as he could and smiled when Coco defended him. "So… Lil' princess, are you saying that he's here?" Maria smiled deviously. Toru let a small gasp escape and stepped away from the door quietly.

"N-no, he isn't here. I don't know where he is. The last I saw him; he was leaving for the sea yesterday morning." Coco tried to regain her front and protect Toru. "I don't know how you could've missed him."

"Hm…" Yuri held her chin in thought then looked up at Maria. "Maria, how can we tell if she's telling us the truth or not?"

Maria smiled, "That's easy, Yuri. All you have to do is think."

_God knows you two can't._ Toru thought to himself as he packed his things in the duffel bag he had brought to the hotel.

Maria continued, "The pearls always react to the other pearls, am I correct?" Yuri nodded slowly, waiting for the rest of Maria's brilliant idea spring forth. "Well, all we have to do is see if the yellow mermaid's pearl is reacting to anything nearby, if so, we'll take her with us to search for the little prince."

"Wow!" Yuri gazed at Maria, "…Why couldn't I think of that?"

Toru slid open his window carefully and peered out. He didn't see any danger, but dark clouds were gathering, signifying a monstrous exit. He glanced back at the door. That lock wasn't going to keep him from the sea demons for long. _Thank you_, He thought, _Thank you so much, Coco_.

Maria examined Coco's pearl and saw it responding to something nearby that was growing fainter as it ran away. "Check in that room, Yuri." She motioned towards Toru's room.

Coco looked at the door wide eyed. Yuri tried to turn the knob, "It's locked, Maria."

Maria smiled evilly, "That's no problem." She coated the knob and escutcheon with a thick layer of ice and yanked on the door. It opened as if it was worn from over hundreds of years of damage. "There, go search inside."

Toru looked back and gasped. He quickly leaped out the window and braced himself for the harsh impact that would await him. Yuri and Maria walked inside. Coco was still caught in Maria's arms, "See," Coco tried to diffuse their interest, "he isn't here after all."

Maria pondered Coco's statement out loud, "'he's not here…_after all_'. I think that he was here before. The maid in this hotel would've cleaned up his room if he had left yesterday morning, don't you agree, Yuri?"

Yuri nodded, "Yes, I do." She looked at the open window and suspected the rather obvious thud that had just occurred. "I think I may know where our little prince is as well." She peered out the window to see Toru run off along the beach. "I see him, Maria! Let's alert the others!"

Coco sighed sadly, "Oh, Toru…"

"Worry about yourself, yellow princess," Maria froze Coco's torso, causing Coco to wince. "Gackto-sama, we have the yellow mermaid princess!"

Gackto walked up from the sea depths with a menacing smile visible on his face. "Drop her." Maria did just as Gackto commanded and dropped Coco out of the window. Coco's shriek was cut off when she landed in Gackto's arms. "Why, hello there, little princess. It's so nice of you to join me."

Coco struggled against Gackto's grip as he walked back into the water, but it was futile. "Maria, Yuri, we've won one prize for the day, let us take our leave. Tomorrow will be interesting when we capture the orange mermaid princess."

"Yes, Gackto-sama," Maria and Yuri spoke in unison as they slithered out the window and into the water with their true prince.

Toru ran and continued to run, but as he huffed, he remembered Coco helping him over the years he had stayed at the hotel. It pained him to think about those happy memories that were never going to come back to life. He looked back at the hotel, out of breath and watched as Gackto, Maria, and Yuri took Coco below the ocean surface. Anger welled up inside of him. Toru stormed across the beach then broke into a sprint.

"No!" Toru was tackled down by an orange mermaid with long, ginger hair. "Toru, don't go after them! You're not ready."

Toru looked up to see Seira in her mermaid form. "S-Seira? You're a mermaid princess and so is Coco…" He stared at the sand sadly. "Why was I kept in the dark?"

Seira looked at him with sympathy in her eyes, "Toru…I'm sorry that we couldn't tell you, but you need to realize that it isn't good to know so much."

"I wanted to know what exactly happened to my parents." He gave out a pathetic laugh, "I guess I just saw a reenactment."

Seira placed a hand on Toru's shoulder, "Toru, I'm so sorry about what happened to Lucia and Kaito. I really am, but we need to leave this beach as soon as possible."

Toru held Seira's shoulders once more, but not to harm her. "Tell me how I can grow stronger. I can't protect my mother's pearl with my pathetic self."

"Well, I suppose I can coach you," Seira smiled.

"I'm not singing pop music and I'm not wearing a miniskirt and a corset." Toru stared into her eyes and stated his terms. "Other than that, I'll be fine with whatever you have to teach me."

Seira stared back, accepting Toru's terms. "Okay, dry me off."

"What?" Toru asked, "Why would I need to dry you off? What good would that do?"

Seira sighed and explained, "When a mermaid is completely dry, she becomes human, but when she is wet, she becomes a mermaid."

"Oh, I see." Toru digested Seira's information. "If I have a mermaid for a mother, though, doesn't that mean that I can transform into a merman?"

"Not entirely," She began, "you see, there are no mermen in the mermaid world, so the chance that you will become a merman is very, very slim. Personally, I don't think you'd be able to become a merman at all. In fact, I think you won't even be able to sing and fight back because you can't become a merman."

Toru stared at Seira, "Your confidence in me is overwhelming."

"I'm sorry," Seira laughed awkwardly. "Let's go inside where we won't be disturbed then I'll explain everything you need to know, right down to the very first day your mother came onto land."

**M-12: WRITTEN IN ONE NIGHT! HAH! WHAT NOW?! … *dies* So tiiiiiiiired. Need sleeeeeeep. Want to wriiiiiiiite… Want to rp…**

**DO NOT SKIP. MUST READ:**

**DSB wasn't able to edit this time, because she was swamped with homework…and I was impatient… But you all still love me, right? 8D O.O I hope so. Everyone, please send me questions that Toru would ask Seira. It'd help me get out the next chapter fasteeeeeeerrrrrr… 83 **

**Reading and reviewing is only for cool people, **

**so if you're not cool, **

**don't even think about pressing **

**that button below this comment.**


	8. Reintroduction

**M-12: Hi. What's up? I'm talking about…I'm talking about something…It's a shame I forgot. God, I'm tired and my back hurts. I think I'll just turn in for the night. *yawns* Crap it. WAH! Brain…DEAD. I need water and lots of it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own whatever it is I do not own and my brain is on strike. **

**M-12: I hate you, brain. No one loves you, brain. AGH! Headache! SHOOT! *lies down* AAAAGH… *series of sickening cracks* *sits up* My God. My entire body is on strike today. I need a vanilla bean frappuccino. **_**Whoever gives me one, will be able to sneak into the set of Mama's A Mermaid. **_**Not the story, the set. :3**

**Okay, let's light this candle. Places everyone!**

**Mama's A Mermaid**

Chapter 8 – Reintroduction

Toru sat at a table with Seira. He hadn't said anything and his hand covered his mouth as he stared out the window at the pouring rain. The only light in the room was the reflection of the tranquil moonlight coming off the rain.

Seira's hands were wrapped around her cup filled with hot chocolate and marshmallows. The marshmallows have deteriorated into the hot chocolate, which at the same time was growing cold. She watched Toru stare outside. The dim light hardly defined his facial features, so it was difficult to tell as to what he was thinking.

"Let me get this straight," Toru's voice was soft and was hardly above a whisper, "to fight against these sea demons, the mermaid princesses transform into their 'idol' form and sing." He stared into Seira's eyes, but his body remained in the same position. "What is in their music that hurts us and what is in our music that hurts them?"

Seira stared back into Toru's eyes, wondering how she should answer without confusing him. "Yes, we transform. As for what's in their music that hurts us, it's very hard to notice. If it is possible to listen to their songs without yelling due to the intense pain, then we would find our answer. As for what's in our music that hurts them, I believe it's the purity of it and the feelings we have for our kingdoms, the _love_ we have for our kingdoms."

"Oh…" Toru's voice trailed off as he pushed his cup ever so slightly. The cup moved quite a bit of distance, for Toru had inhaled the hot chocolate that was once in it. "How very…"

Seira waited for him to finish his sentence then decided to help him finish it, "'How very…' moving, emotional, dramatic?"

"Cheesy." Toru looked back out the window. Seira's eye twitched with annoyance. "Corny, it's as if life is a soap opera or a manga. It's Mary Sue-ish."

"M-Mary Sue-ish?" Seira gaped. "Toru, I know that our way of fighting the-"

"Pansies-" Toru interrupted.

"SEA DEMONS is a little-" Seira corrected Toru, but was still interrupted again.

"Pathetic," He finished. "The way you and the other mermaids 'fight' the pansies is pathetic. They hurt, because they hear something in the mermaids' songs. You hurt, because of some secret component of their songs. It's ridiculous." He stood up and took his cup to the sink.

Seira stood up out of a fit of anger, "Toru! Why are you insulting the way we fight?"

"Because it's stupid!" Toru faced her and stormed over to her. "Singing to fight is just wrong and stupid! No matter what kind of effect it has on anyone else! I don't want to remember singing whenever I see something evil! I want to sing for my own pleasure! Can't you understand that I think differently than you and all the other mermaids on this?" He took a pause and sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just too worked up about all of this. I can't believe what's expected of me."

Seira, wide eyed throughout Toru's rant, now bore a soft expression, a sympathetic one. "It's okay. Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

Truthfully, Toru had so many questions buzzing around in his mind he just couldn't pick one to start with. He began with, "What was my mother like?"

Seira smiled sweetly, "Lucia-chan _is_ a determined, brave, stubborn crybaby. She's wonderful as are all the mermaid princesses."

Toru thought over Seira's answer and then plucked another question out of is inquiry-ridden mind, "What did she look like?"

Seira placed a finger on her chin in thought, "Hm… Well, as a mermaid, her hair is extremely long and bright blonde. It's pulled back into two, long pigtails and her crystal blue eyes are always ready for any type of event, whether it's good or bad."

_How did a coward like me end up having two, brave parents like them?_ He thought to himself and smiled sadly. "Thanks, Seira. It's pretty late we should be getting to bed."

Seira nodded and yawned in response. "I agree. Goodnight, Toru." She walked off to her room after Toru had said goodnight as well.

Toru stayed in the kitchen, washing his cup and Seira's. He thought about the conversation that just took place and decided that he was going to train as hard as he could in order to save everyone. After putting up the cups, he took the duffel bag he had packed and spent the night in a regular hotel room.

The next morning, Toru woke up to the spots of sun, reflecting the ocean. He sat up and dressed himself as he would every morning and opened the door to the hallway. It looked the same as it had yesterday. Toru walked downstairs and called, "Seira!"

He looked around and figured it odd that Seira wasn't already awake. "Seira!" He called again and decided to go up to her room to see if she was still sleeping. Toru knocked on the door, "Are you sleeping?" Which was, of course, a rather painfully obvious question.

Toru looked down at the doorknob with questioning eyes. It was wet. He gripped the knob then recoiled; the doorknob was freezing. He inspected the door further and noticed that if was slightly ajar. Gulping, he pushed it open softly and his eyes grew wide at the room.

It was destroyed. The bed was ripped up and the sheets were shredded. Not only that, everything was strewn everywhere and the window and part of the wall attached to it was torn clean from the hotel.

Toru stared down at the center of the horrific mess to see a solitary, crimson rose standing its ground as a brave soldier. Anger welled up inside him and he stormed over to the rose and picked it up.

"Do you like my calling card?" A dark voice appeared behind Toru.

Toru spun around and threw the petaled dart at Gackto, only having it to land in the door, narrowly missing the enemy's neck. Gackto plucked the thorned beauty from the wall, "Maybe I should have brought an orange rose instead. I heard it's your favorite color for various, unsaid reasons."

"Shut up!" Toru snapped. "I'll kill you!"

Gackto laughed, amused, "You? Kill me? You are very funny, young, naive prince. I came to ask you to come with me to my castle. Now that I have every mermaid princess, we need one, last prince to complete the collection. I offer you power and the ability to rule over the entire ocean, Toru. It would be foolish to turn down my offer."

"NO! I won't go with you! Give her back, give them all back!" Toru couldn't keep his temper under control and would soon end up exploding due to the excessive hate.

"You haven't a choice, Toru," Gackto stared to step over the mess, his long fuzzy coat slinked against the debris. He placed a hand on Toru's shoulder and gripped it tightly.

Toru winced and hissed at Gackto, "Get away from me, you bastard!" He yanked back and tossed a sheet over Gackto. Quickly, he leaped out the gaping hole in the wall. Toru fell to his feet then his knees. The sheet fell on him and he couldn't see. Someone picked him up and he could hear the crashing waves get closer and closer.

Gackto stared to sing in order to keep Toru from squirming. He struggled and flailed, but he fainted when they reached the rocky waters.

~.-.~

"This one's about a dream I had last night. How an old man tracked me home and stepped inside." Toru woke up to the singing in a warm bed. "Put his foot inside the door and gave a crooked smile." The hyped beat was complemented by a viola, it sounded like. "Something in his eyes…something in his laugh…something in his voice that made my skin crawl off-"

"Hiroki, do you have to sing that creepy song?" Katsu sighed.

"I thought it fit the situation." Hiroki pouted and set down his guitar.

"We're only here to make 'the end' the _end_," Katsu eyed the sleeping band member on the couch bed, Ryuu. "We are a band, because you wanted to be in one. It just makes it harder to do your job when you befriend the target."

Toru pushed open the door into the main room to see Hiroki and Katsu standing in the center of it. "Target?"

"I have an ongoing relationship with my dartboard." Hiroki answered with a surprisingly straight face. "She works as a doorstop and my job is to put her in front of the door."

Katsu smacked his hand to his forehead and his head shook slowly. "Hiroki, you're a complete and total fool."

"I thought I was an ass." Hiroki placed his finger on his chin.

"You were an ass yesterday." Aki walked out of the bathroom. "You are a fool today."

Hiroki pouted, "I feel the love."

Toru could only stare at the group of males with his mouth agape. "What is with you guys? How can you be so close?"

Ryuu sat up and stretched. "Hey, everyone, I'm awake."

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty," Hiroki laughed. "It's a good thing you told us. You sleep like the dead."

Ryuu pouted a bit, "I'm glad I'm not dead."

"I concur," Hiroki said with a proud voice.

Katsu muttered, "I'd bet you couldn't 'concur' if I struck you over the head with a sword."

Hiroki stared at Katsu with squinted, dissatisfied eyes, "Everyone has their weaknesses. Besides," Hiroki leaned against the wall carelessly, "I wouldn't die."

Toru decided to interrupt, "Oh? Why not?"

Hiroki's crimson eyes glinted as he smiled knowingly at Toru. In a soft voice he said, "It's not my time, yet." After a long pause, Hiroki spoke again, "We saw some weirdo, Gackto-I think you called him in your sleep- carry off Seira."

Toru looked at Hiroki sadly, "Yes," his sadness turned into anger, "I'll make him pay."

Hiroki spoke up in a lighter tone. "We're all willing to help you get your family back, but you'll need to train under me. I'll be harsh, but you'll figure out so much about fighting and singing."

Toru smiled and nodded. "Can I hear that song that you were singing before? It sounded a bit like my situation."

Hiroki stuck his tongue out at Katsu, "Told ya so." He looked back at Toru, "Sure, everyone, places." Hiroki stepped up to the mike with his guitar in hand. "Faust, Midas, and Myself. By Switchfoot."

It started in a slow tone then kicked into an eerie one, "This one's about a dream I had last night. How an old man tracked me home and stepped inside, put his foot inside the door, and gave a crooked smile." A corner of Hiroki's mouth pulled up into a smile that stung Toru's heart. He could see someone in the song. "Something in his eyes…"

Red.

"Something in his laugh…"

Evil.

"Something in his voice that made my skin crawl off."

Gackto.

The bass played a few notes, bringing the music to the guitar for a beat. "He said, 'I've seen you here before. I know your name'." Ryuu dragged a note across his guitar strings and Hiroki's eyes flashed crimson. "Yeah, you could have your pick of pretty things. You could have it all. Everything you want. Everything you've seen. Everything you'll need. Everything you've ever had in fantasies.-'"

"Okay," Toru raised his voice. "Thanks… It does fit." He recalled the offer Gackto had made him. "I want to learn that song."

Hiroki smiled, but a secretive smile, not a happy one. "There's something you need to know first. Using music to fight is wrong, but using music to lift the hearts of others is a different story. Keep in mind that you are only lifting the hearts of others when you sing. If you use it to fight, you will surely fail."

Toru hesitantly nodded, "I understand."

"And we all have to go to mortal school," Katsu added. "We wouldn't want our cover blown, would we?"

Both Ryuu and Hiroki groaned, "But Katsuuuu!"

"Katsu is right. We all need to go to school, except for Shadow," Aki sided with Katsu. "Shadow can keep watch and keep your presence hidden from sea demons, Toru." Toru nodded. "We shall begin tomorrow morning."

**M-12: Thank you all for submitting reviews and a special thanks to Pink Star Pearl for thinking up a good number of questions. Her review just sparked some juicy thoughts in me. Thank you, mina-san! ^.^**

**(A later M-12 note of the night chapter eight was completed) M-12: DEAD. SO DEAD. SO PISSED. SO PMS. I WANT TO DIE. Or at the very least SLEEP. **


	9. Precautions

**Disclaimer: I don't own MMPPP or any other thing that I don't own in this chapter that I bet will be eight pages typed. I wrote it down on notebook paper and it was 19 pages, just the front. 19 EFFIN' PAGES. O_O I think that deserves a round of applause. Oh, and I apologize for every one of you readers for seeing what Aki is like when he's tired and cranky. And I also apologize for the suggestive topics and bad language. **

**(1/19/11 Note: Hey, all, it's M-12, since this chapter used to be chock full of useless information, bad language, and suggestive topics, I had to cut it short. I rearranged some dialogue and plot to fit the story. I'm sure you'll enjoy it just the same-if not-better.)**

**Mama's A Mermaid**

Chapter 9 – Precautions

Hiroki set his guitar down. "Toru, I know this may be hard to understand, but I need to sleep."

Toru looked up from the messily written music and lyrics. "Hiroki, you can't stop now, we're nearly done learning the lyrics by heart!"

"It's four am." Hiroki croaked, "It's time to sleep. Even Ryuu already went to bed! We need to be bright-eyed and bushy tailed in two hours. That, my pupil, is obviously never going to happen now."

"But I want to sing still!" Toru whined and attempted to stop Hiroki from putting up his guitar.

"You're going to lose your voice. Go to sleep." Hiroki stole back his guitar and put it up. Toru reluctantly agreed and trudged off to his bed like a pouting child.

The next morning was filled with pushing, shoving, cussing, and questionable sights. Toru, in a school uniform and ready, stared at a sleeping Hiroki. After much shoving and yelling, Hiroki sat up with a groggy expression stuck to his face. Toru guided Hiroki along to get him ready for school and then Ryuu tugged Hiroki out the door. Katsu and Aki trudged out behind them and Shadow kept hidden.

Toru watched other students on their way to school. "Won't it be awkward? Introducing ourselves to the class?"

"Of course not. We'll just be saying our names." Katsu reassured Toru again.

Toru looked up at the sky in thought, "How should I introduce myself?"

"'Hello, my name is Toru'." Aki impersonated Toru for a few brief seconds. "That is what you should say, nothing more."

"But what about making friends?" Toru asked.

"You are not to make friends. You will only speak to us." Katsu had stepped in front of him and stared into his eyes. "It's too risky to befriend anyone other than us."

"Aren't you being a bit…," Toru's voice trailed off.

"We are being overprotective, but it is necessary." Aki had stopped walking in a few feet ahead of them. "Gackto is after you, Toru. I know that you are perfectly aware of this, but we are trying to be as careful as we possibly can."

"Gackto can snag you at any time. We all want to be there to protect you, so please don't turn against us, because we give you limitations." Katsu placed a hand on Toru's shoulder. "You're very valuable, because of your raw power."

"Raw power…?" Toru knew that the band was only doing what was best for him, but he didn't like the idea of being completely isolated.

"We shall explain it to you during lunch. Let us continue our walk." Aki began walking again, but at a faster pace.

They made it to the school in less than five minutes and the group of male teens strolled into their new classrooms. "Toru," Hiroki smiled deviously as he turned around in his seat, "do you like your new class?"

"I would like it better if Aki and Katsu were in here…" Toru mumbled.

"Yes, it is a shame that Ki-chan and Ka-chan are in another class." Ryuu's smile matched Hiroki's.

Toru groaned softly, "It really is."

"I think I might skip," Hiroki stared at the ceiling. "I'll just introduce us quickly." He stood and his voice boomed, "Everyone, I'm Hiroki Kikuyama, this blonde freak is Ryuu Hull and this pipsqueak is Toru Domoto. My hair and eyes are _natural_. I am not a Yankee and I'm not available!" After he finished, Hiroki skipped out of the classroom.

Toru gaped and he slowly turned to Ryuu. Ryuu laughed, "He's done this before. Go follow him while you still have time before class."

Toru stood and walked into the music room as quietly as he could. He saw Hiroki playing the first few notes and listened to the soon to come lyrics.

Hiroki opened his mouth and sung, "I can smell the death on the sheets, covering me. I can't believe this is the end, but this is my deathbed. I lie here alone. If I close my eyes tonight, I know I'll be home…"

The lonely notes on the piano picked up, "The year was 1941. I was eight years old and far, far too young to know that the stories of battles and glory was a tale a kind mother made up for her son. You see, Dad was a traveling preacher, teaching the words of the teacher. But mother had sworn he went off to the war and died there with honor somewhere on a beach there, but he left once to never return. It shocked me that I should unlearn… Whatever I thought a father should be, I abandoned that thought like he abandoned me-" **(1)**

Toru hugged Hiroki from behind. "Don't sing this… This didn't happen to you, did it?"

Hiroki laughed, "No, Silly. It's just a song that I like. It sounds beautiful, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it is." Toru played a note on the piano.

"Hiroki, Toru!" Ryuu strolled into the room. "Get your corpses back to the classroom. The teacher is pretty pissed."

"I told you I'm skipping. Mr. Prince needs to learn, though." Hiroki smiled.

"W-wait!" Toru managed to yell before Ryuu yanked him out of the door and out in the hall. He could hear Hiroki from the hall way start playing a faster paced song. **(2)**

After a few classes, lunch came and the group sat up on the school roof. Toru ate and with each bite he thought about how excited he was to practice singing, "I want to practice 'Faust, Midas, and Myself' again."

"You can only learn what has happened so far. So let's take it from the top." Hiroki finished off the vile and set it down next to him. "One…two…three."

On three, both Toru and Hiroki sang, "This one's about a dream I had last night. How an old man tracked me home and stepped inside, put his foot inside the door and gave a crooked smile." Hiroki's eerie smile flashed his fangs. "Something in his eyes," Hiroki opened his crimson eyes larger than normal then relaxed them, "Something in his laugh, something in his voice that made my skin crawl off. He said, 'I've seen you here before, I know your name. Yeah, you could have your pick of pretty things. You could have it all. Everything you want. Everything you need. Everything you've ever had in fantasies'."

Toru opened his mouth to wait for the lyrics in order to keep singing, but Hiroki had stopped. He had no intention of continuing. "Um…more lyrics?"

"Not until you get a mike with your pearl built into it." Hiroki noted that Toru looked confused, so he explained what Toru actually needed to remember. "What you need to know is that pearls do not enhance a mermaid's ability to sing."

"They don't?" Toru's eyebrows knitted together, now thoroughly confused.

"Nope, a mermaid's pearl limits the singing of said mermaid. It controls the sound and inserts parts of your character into your song. That is how the mermaids can defeat those sea demons. When new transformations emerge, the pearl grows weaker, not stronger. Your own ears need to get used to the power of your voice. That's why the pearls limit your voice. If you ever sung without your pearl, you would blow our ears out." Hiroki smiled at his own thought process.

"Basically, your pearl controls your voice so it doesn't destroy everything. Because you're born of Lucia, a princess of the North Pacific, and Kaito, a prince of Panthalassa, your power is infinite. And you're the only merman there is so that contributes as well." Katsu explained.

"You're very unique, Toru, a crown jewel." Ryuu swayed from side to side in the breeze. "Those dimwits have spent their lives under the deep, deep water. Your voice and so do the other mermaids' voices pierce into their ears. The night Princess Coco was taken, Aki played the Black Beauty sisters' requiem. It was fine for us, because that song is all normal to us."

"But why did it hurt me?" Toru asked.

"I have analyzed the song and compared it with a villain's, Lady Bat's, song. They each have a very similar base." Aki took out Hiroki's stolen iPod and handed it to Toru. "Listen to the selected song. I have taken out what I think the problem is."

Toru hesitantly put the ear buds in his ears and listened through the Black Beauty Sisters' song and Lady Bat's song. "They sound pretty cool."

"Wait for the next segment. It is what I think is the dangerous ingredient." Aki waited for Toru to wince.

The selection began and Toru ripped the ear buds from his ears. He held his hands over his ears and trembled. "Vile music…"

Hiroki scratched his jaw, "Hm, then it is the bat and graveyard thrown into a blender and turned on obliterate. It sounds like the echo of the cap of a trash can."

Toru nodded, "Yeah, now I know there's a logical reason behind this. Are you guys going to get…kidnapped, too?"

"Probably," Hiroki took up his iPod, "we're not careful and," he stuffed a stick of pocky into his mouth, "being in the line of fire is fun."

"Gackto isn't fun, he's scary." Toru stole the container of pocky. "Make me a mike."

Hiroki groaned and spilled Aki's water bottle over the roof top. His hand reached down into the wet cement, his arm sinking deeper and deeper. Toru gasped as Hiroki pulled out a simple looking mike. "That's not right," He pouted and dropped the mike back down into the water, having it splash into several water droplets. "Give me your pearl, Toru."

"Are you crazy? No way." Toru held his pearl in his hand.

"Fine." Hiroki shoved Toru's upper body into the puddle. Toru's arms flailed every which way. Hiroki held Toru's fist which clutched onto the pearl and shoved it underwater. He waited and yanked Toru back up. "Didja have a nice dip?"

Toru tackled Hiroki down. "Are you insane? I could've drowned!"

Hiroki stared wide eyed at Toru, "You have fins for ears, gills on your neck, and your irises are swimming around your pupils. A merman looks quite interesting."

Toru felt his neck then winced. "…" He gazed at his hand that had held his pearl. A deep, aquamarine mike had nestled itself in his palm. His pink sphere was placed in the center top of the musical device. "My mike."

"Yes, that's yours." Hiroki sat up. "You may want to dry off. Your hair and eyes are the same in both forms. If someone finds out, you'll be shipped off in a fish tank to the military base before you could say…whatever it is you would say."

**M-12: … *falls over* …My hands…and arm…and butt…they're all officially dead. I can't wait to edit this… I typed this all in ONE SITTING. And NINE pages! One off my original guess. What now, peeps, what now? Review, that's what's gonna happen now.**

**M-12 (after editing): …NEVER AGAIN. I WILL NEVER WRITE A CHAPTER THIS LONG EVER AGAIN. There were only THREE (or four) mistakes! Good God…**

**Key:**

**(1): This song is "Deathbed" by Relient K. It really is a beautiful song.**

**(2): This song is "Hold it In" by Jukebox The Ghost.**

**Both of these are on my profile. **


	10. Intruder

**Disclaimer: I do not own MMPPP.**

**M-12: Hi, all. I'm sorry that I haven't updated in forever, but I have been working. I'm sorry that last chapter was so…graphic in some places and I'm sorry there were some cuss words that were inappropriate. I will try my hardest not to go back down the sewer as I write.**

**Oh, I received an anon review that asked about which language Toru meant 'sea'. I found the name on a Japanese baby name website. I assume that it's just a name that means sea.**

**Mama's A Mermaid**

Chapter 10 – Intruder

Crowded voices, monotone instructors, and nights crammed full of practice. Toru became very familiar with these variables over the past few months. The band was able to get along peacefully with Toru and they had done a splendid job training him.

It was eight a.m. precisely when the bell rang and it was precisely when a new female student peaked into the classroom.

"Class," The teacher pulled the girl into the classroom, "we have a new student."

The girl's long, chestnut locks curled at the very tips ever so slightly. Her deep, emerald eyes gave her a feline appearance. "Hello," she waved and spoke with an American accent, "I'm Selena Pearson."

Hiroki stared at Selena with slightly widened eyes, as if to be attracted to her. Ryuu did as well. "Hiroki," Ryuu whispered, "if she recognizes us, we're screwed."

"I thought she was traveling the world, not following us," Hiroki whispered back.

"You guys are married and you've already reproduced. Shut up," Toru hissed quietly.

"Is something interesting going on back there, you three?" The teacher had narrowed eyes.

Hiroki's eyes turned teary, "ELMO DIED."

Ryuu followed Hiroki's tears, "The cookie monster ate him!"

Ryuu banged his fists on the desk and Hiroki stood up and clutched his head, "NO! ELMO! NO! WHY, GOD, WHY?!" **(1) **

Toru only stared and brought his palm to his forehead, "Sit down, moron."

"Pull yourselves together, Kikuyama, Hull." The teacher rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Find a seat, Selena."

Selena walked over to the empty desk next to Toru and smiled at him. "You're friends with Coach and Spots?"

Hiroki and Ryuu each had their heads on their desks. "SCREWED," Hiroki groaned.

Ryuu picked up his head, "Hey, Hiroki, could you say that louder? I don't think everyone heard you."

"Bugger off, Spots." Hiroki hissed.

"This should be an interesting school year," Toru ignored Ryuu and Hiroki. "Selena, you're from the states? What brings you here?"

Selena nodded and answered, "Business. My brother travels a lot and he's going to be here a while." Her face turned sour. "He doesn't want me to miss any school. He doesn't want me to miss any school. He doesn't want me to get in any trouble either, so could you look after me?" She smiled sweetly.

"Wait…" Hiroki stared at Selena, "Your brother?"

"Yeah, have you seen him lately while you were out k-" Selena was cut off by Ryuu.

Ryuu stood up, "TEACHER, DO YOU HAVE ANY ANTI-DEPRESSANTS?!"

After that, the class proceeded in chaos. The teacher left for aspirin. Selena and Toru continued to talk for the rest of the class period. At lunch, the band joined together on the roof for a conference. Toru and Selena ate in the classroom. "Selena's here," Hiroki chugged his red vial.

"What a pleasant surprise," Aki smiled and drank his water.

"Yeah, but she's here under false pretenses." Ryuu spoke, "She said that she's here with her brother."

Katsu looked at Ryuu, confused. "You must've heard wrong. Selena's an only child. She'd be here with her boyfriend."

"They're engaged, Katsu. I saw her wearing a ring. I saw her wear a ring and it didn't come from the local Dollar Tree. It was gold with a huge diamond." Hiroki took out another vial and drank it.

Ryuu gasped, "She said she was here on 'business'. Coming from the U.S. to here is a pleasure trip. Damian doesn't want anything to do with his family, and he's filthy rich."

Shadow appeared, "Everyone, Selena's with Toru and she was definitely wrapping him around her finger." He took a deep breath. "She was singing."

Hiroki cussed under his breath and ran down to the classroom. He gasped at the sight that was before him.

Toru was passed out on the desk and Gackto stood over him. "You did such a nice job, Selena."

Selena stood, her back facing the door. "Should I get the others, Gackto?" Gackto picked up Toru, "Only if they interfere. I have enough hostages, but maybe if my minions had a few toys to play with, they'd be able to work better." He laughed darkly.

Selena didn't move. "May I be excused? Permanently?"

"Hold that thought." Gackto stared at the empty doorway. "I thought I saw something red."

Selena supported Toru as Gackto walked door to the door to look around. Selena sung quietly in Toru's ear. As Gackto stepped into the hall through one door, Hiroki stepped into the room through the other. He strolled over to Selena. Selena finished her small song and gripped Toru. Gackto looked up and down the hall then came back to the classroom to see Selena tackled to the ground by Hiroki and Toru sitting in a desk, gradually waking up.

"Oh, joy." Gackto hissed and blasted Hiroki off Selena and into the wall.

Hiroki hissed back and stood up. "Would you prefer a trade?"

Toru stood quickly, ran, and stopped between Hiroki and Gackto, "Gackto, don't even think about taking Hiroki or Selena."

Gackto smirked evilly, "You think you can stand up to me? In that case, I think I'll steal something from you."

In a split second, Gackto disappeared. "Toru," Hiroki whispered, "Take Selena and go to the roof. Katsu, Ryuu, Aki, and Shadow can protect you."

"What? You'll be following me, right?" Toru replied. There was a pause. "…Hiroki?" Toru turned around to see an empty window and storm clouds retreating. Anger welled up inside him as he picked up Selena and ran up to the roof.

"Toru, you're okay!" Ryuu smiled then after a few seconds his smile disappeared. "Where's the comic relief?"

Toru glared at the storm. "He was taken."

"He'll come back." Katsu sipped his vial. "He's like a blood hound. Even if you drop him in the middle of nowhere, he'll find his way back."

"Gackto is rather dense," Aki inspected the storm. "He took away your coach; he knows that you can't finish your training without him."

"How can you all be so calm?" Selena spoke with panic and worry in her voice. "Gackto will be able to control Hiroki and use him against us."

"We have Katsu, me, Shadow, and Aki. We can beat Hiroki to a bloody pulp if necessary." Ryuu stood and walked over to Selena. "Let's talk." He took Selena's hand and brought her to the far side of the rooftop. He whispered so the others couldn't' hear.

"Toru," Katsu spoke softly, "you passed out when you heard Selena's song."

Toru looked questioningly at Katsu, "No, I didn't. I fell asleep. There's a difference. It was so serene in the classroom and the lights were off, too. It was just the two of us…" His voice trailed off into fantasies.

Selena's annoyed hiss caused Aki, Katsu, and Shadow to look at her, "You don't even know what's happening in my life right now! You don't understand!"

"I would if you told me!" Ryuu yelled back.

"Stop accusing me! I sang a little lullaby I knew and he fell asleep! Then that Gackto guy appeared!" Tears welled up in Selena's eyes.

Ryuu took her left hand and showed her, her ring finger. His voice was turned down to a whisper so Toru couldn't hear, "Is this small fortune not good enough for you? You'd rather have a whole kingdom?"

Selena could only stare up at Ryuu with a firm face. Lonely tears rolled down her cheeks and stained her clothes. "I'm innocent." She spoke a weak whisper.

Ryuu let go of her hand. "How will you look at him when you go home?"

Her voice broke, "I won't." She wiped her eyes.

"Toru," Shadow spoke softly, "she's engaged. Ask her about it for more information."

"I've asked her about that, Shadow, her fiancé died a few days ago. He wanted to be buried here and that's why Selena is here." Toru walked over to Ryuu and Selena. "Selena, I'm sorry they're so nosy and that they can't value other people's feelings." He glared slightly at Ryuu and took Selena inside to comfort her.

"Nice going, Ryuu." Katsu sighed.

Ryuu walked back over. "Poor Damian… I wonder how it happened. If only we could visit his grave to make sure that her sToru is plausible."

"Ryuu, what do you have against her?" Aki looked at Ryuu coldly.

"She's a good actress when she wants to be," Ryuu answered just before the bell rang.

**M-12: I'm sorry that this chapter is pitifully short. I promise to have some mermaid melody characters make appearances next chapter, but until then, this will have to suffice.**

**Key:**

**(1): **XD The sad part is that I can see them both doing this.


	11. Decision

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with MMPPP.**

**M-12: Don't kill me please. It took an effort for me to even begin this chapter.**

**Mama's A Mermaid**

Chapter 11 – Decision

"I'm sorry, Selena," Toru went on apologizing.

Selena wiped her tears away, "No, Toru, it's alright." She smiled at him, "I'm alright. I'm just a little shocked from that attack earlier. That was so weird, right?"

They each walked into the dark, empty classroom and stood by the windows. "Yeah," Toru laughed awkwardly, "Weird…"

"Toru…" Selena stared into Toru's cerulean eyes and stood closer to him. "I'm…scared that, that guy will come back. He's dangerous."

Toru nodded, "Yes, he is." Selena's jade eyes flashed with what seemed to be lust. A feeling of uneasiness welled up inside of Toru and he gripped his hands into fists. "Selena…?" Selena's eyes bewitched Toru as he slowly fell victim to another lullaby. His eyelids grew heavy and before he knew it, he was out cold.

Hiroki sighed as he walked through the halls of Gackto's castle. "This place is pretty depressing," he muttered to himself. "So barren…" He half laughed, "Maybe Gackto's reason for catching the mermaid princesses is because he wants to spruce up the joint." A faint rainbow of color illuminated a separate hallway. _What's this? _Hiroki thought to himself as he turned down the hallway.

He stared at the cases that held in mermaid princesses. "Geez… That's so creepy." He placed his right fist under his chin, "Now, who do I break out first…?" He sighed and pointed his finger at an individual prison and sung a small choosing song in order to find out which princess would be the first to experience freedom once more. He smiled at which princess his index finger landed on. "Orange, sweet," he gave out a small laugh.

"Hold on, toots, I'll have you out in a jiffy." He pulled out his treasured silver magnum and bashed the solid handle against the thick glass, only making a slight crack, "Geez, that's hard…" He waited for a few seconds, building up his strength and swung his gun into the glass, having it crack much more. "Hah!" Hiroki gave out a sound of accomplishment. He swung the handle of his gun against the crack several more times until it finally broke and the princess of the Indian Ocean fell out along with a stream of unknown fluid.

"Success," Hiroki grinned and picked up the princess. "One down…" He sighed; he'll have to make trips back down to the castle in order to save the other princesses.

By the time Toru had woken up, he was back in his bed; back in the apartment where he grew up. He looked around, thinking it odd that the surroundings were completely grayscale while he, himself, was the only thing in full color.

The smell of roses permeated the apartment as Toru walked out of his room and into the living area. He grimaced when it grew strong, "Where is that coming from?" He hissed.

"I would think it would be coming from my rose," Gackto laughed lightly.

Toru turned and glared at Gackto who was also in full color, "You…"

"Hear me out, headache," Gackto's eyes narrowed. Toru was silent. "I can make it so that your mother never disappeared that one day." Toru remained silent and looked away in thought. "I could make sure that you grew up with both of your parents. I could make sure that your orange mermaid princess loves you back."

Toru looked at Gackto. "You can rewind time and make sure my mother stays safe? Adding to that, you could make Seira love me?"

"Yes," Gackto smirked, "I can, but there's a catch."

"I would think it odd if there wasn't one." Toru crossed his arms.

"I need your pearl, your power as a mermaid prince, and your power as a young prince of Panthalassa." Gackto held out his hand, signifying Toru to take it. Toru only stared at Gackto's hand. Gackto sighed, "I see that you need to reminisce to help you decide?" Toru nodded. "Look at the door and watch."

There were sounds of giggles coming from the hallway right outside the entrance of the apartment. There was a womanly voice laughing along with the toddler's giggles. "Mommy," the toddler spoke, "I'm hungry…"

The door opened, revealing a woman in her early twenties and her son at four years of age. "Okay, Toru," she smiled, "take off your shoes. Do you want to help me with dinner?" The grayscale colored woman slipped off her shoes and walked inside with a bag of groceries cradled in her arms.

"Yes!" The grayscale colored toddler grinned and ran inside the apartment after his mother.

The woman walked straight through Toru. She couldn't see him nor could she sense him. She set the bag on the table and looked back at the open door. "Oh," a sudden burst of surprised sound came from her, "Toru, close the door and do not forget to lock it, please."

"Okay, Mommy," The toddler closed the door all the way and reached up high to lock the door. He was most successful. He then ran through Gackto to his mother. He neither saw nor sensed Gackto.

Just then the door was unlocked and opened yet again, "Lucia, are you home?" A grayscale colored man in his early twenties walked through the doorway.

"Daddy," The toddler smiled and looked at the orange haired man. He ran back through Gackto as the man got down on one knee. He held out open arms and caught the toddler in a warm embrace.

Toru watched with his eyes thoroughly clouded by thought. It was complete bliss to watch old memories. He smiled ever so slightly as tears welled in his eyes. Gackto, with a slight wave of his hand, sped up time in this memory. He sped it up to the point where the woman had stopped walking through that door. The man and son walked through the door.

"Daddy, my ears still hurt," the son whimpered, "where's Mommy?" He sniffled.

The man set the luggage down a little further into the apartment after closing the door. He got down on one knee in front of the toddler and he made stern eye contact. "Toru," he spoke softly, "Mommy won't be back."

Tears poured down the toddler's cheeks, "b-but…"

The man hugged his son, "But we will see Mommy. We may have to wait our entire lives, but we will see her again." The two people disappeared and the only part of the memory that stayed intact was the surroundings. Gackto looked at Toru.

Toru was staring at the floor, "What do you want, Gackto?" His cracked voice was barely audible.

Gackto smiled, knowing that he nearly had the pink pearl in his grasp, "Do you want to know what would have happened if you never had to deal with all of this mermaid and magic nonsense? Do you want to know what would have happened if your dear mother never disappeared?"

Toru quickly looked at Gackto, "Life would've been beautiful. I would've lived a normal life." He gave out a pitiful laugh, "I wouldn't have to deal with nightmares like you."

"I can end all of that right now." He held out his hand for the pearl. "Give me the pearl and I will gladly return your life to you."

Toru's right hand slowly moved up to the prism necklace that held his pink pearl. "If I were to give you this and all of my power, would you need the mermaid princesses?"

Gackto sighed impatiently, "No, if you want, I will free them once I have your pearl and your power. Time will roll back and everyone will be able to live happily on land. Your life will be restored. You will grow up with both of your father and your mother by your side and when you do meet Seira, it will be love at first sight for her."

Toru bit his lip and looked away, carefully thinking. He wanted to avoid as much bloodshed as possible to achieve his goal. Restarting everyone's lives to the point where his mother was abducted seemed like a very reasonable deal.

"Toru," Gackto stole Toru's attention, "you've one life left to lead. You can't afford to make any mistakes."

Toru hesitated and stared into Gackto's crimson eyes. Toru closed his cerulean eyes and took off the prism and chain from his neck. He dropped it, with the pearl inside, into Gackto's hand. Gackto's fingers curled around the translucent prism as the pink pearl slowly lost its glow.

Gackto smirked at Toru, "You've made the right decision, Toru."

Pink Pearl Prince and Prince of Panthalassa - acquired

**M-12: It's doooone! And so unforgivably short, I'm sorry. Oh hey, no author's notes. :D Oh, I have a new poll on my profile. If you value the band members' self-esteem, you will vote. OH! Thank you Rice Marionette, MermaidRaven, may, a.t, and WingedGirl4life for reviewing.  
**


	12. Demonic Bliss

**Disclaimer: I don't own MMPPP.**

**M-12: I'm PUMPED! I'm so excited to write, now! :D I have it all planned out and now I just have to write it. Enjoy!**

**Mama's A Mermaid**

Chapter 12 – Demonic Bliss

Toru stared at Gackto sternly to hide nervousness, "Our deal?"

Gackto nodded as he tucked away the pearl, "Yes, yes," he couldn't help but to laugh at how easy it was to trick Toru into giving up his pearl, "go sleep in that bed of yours. You'll wake up as a toddler. It will be the day you returned from Hawaii with _both_ of your parents."

"What about the mermaid princesses?" Toru asked quickly.

"Their lives will restart just the same as yours will. Go to bed." Gackto pointed to Toru's room.

Toru nodded, "Well," he gave out a relieved laugh, "that was simple. I don't know why everyone was so worked up about you seeing me. We just basically made a peace treaty." Gackto nodded then Toru walked into his room and curled up in his sheets.

Gackto disappeared from this realm of reverie and then reappeared in a hall in his castle. He smirked and laughed maniacally as he stared at his nephew in his harmonic prison. "Next time, Toru," He walked down the hall, "you may want to get your 'peace treaty' in writing."

Hiroki walked through the door of the apartment the band was staying in. He was bruised with few cuts, but he seemed as if it was only a paper cut, "Hey, all," he spoke. "Hear this; I was about to take the orange pearl princess back up to the surface, but it turns out that it was just a trap for Toru." His wounds finished healing. "It turns out that it's damn near impossible to break open those cases. I couldn't even make a crack on the real ones."

"But you did try, right?" Katsu placed his bass down on the floor.

Hiroki nodded, "Yes, I did try, very hard."

"By the way, did you see Toru down there?" Ryuu walked over to Hiroki and closed the door behind him.

Hiroki paused, "Wait… You _all_ lost track of Toru while I was gone?"

"We are not proud of it, but that is the fact." Aki was sitting on the couch, stiff with worry.

"Well," Hiroki paused, "at least I can't get blamed for this."

Shadow appeared up from the floor, "Hey, I found the kid. He's in that castle and Gackto is striking a deal with him. Actually, he might have tricked Toru by now." Katsu paused and went to the window to look for any possible disaster.

"What?" Hiroki hurried over to Shadow, "Elaborate, come on, we need to know where he is exactly. We need to know if the deal was made."

"Everyone," Katsu's mouth was agape, "we need to move our base of operations…"

Aki stood and walked to the window, "Why should we? There should not be any danger." His sentence trailed off as his mouth slowly hung open as well. They both watched the water retreat from the shore. "A tsunami is about to take place," Aki murmured.

Katsu whispered, "Winds are whipping around… Hurricanes…?"

Aki nodded, "Yes, the Panthalassa clan's power is united within one being with one motive. That enormous power cannot stay stable in a small space."

"It's an ocean!" Katsu shouted as he watched these disasters take place.

Hiroki stared out the window, "Hm… This isn't good." He shrugged. "Ah, well, we have the magical realm. We should probably get out of here pronto."

Before anyone could scold Hiroki's carefree attitude, they all disappeared back to their original base of operations along with all of their items of significant value.

As Toru woke, he noticed that he had grown much smaller. He grinned as he looked around to see his room in the form of a toddler's room. _Gackto was right_, Toru thought to himself, _time was rewound and now_… His thought trailed off as he climbed out of bed and ran into his parents' room. There in bed were his mother and his father. A smile grew across his face, _He was right, Mom's back and so is Dad_. Toru's toddler voice giggled as he climbed up between his parents.

"Mommy," he whispered loudly. "Mommy, Mommy, wake up."

Lucia rubbed her eyes and yawned, "Toru, what is it? What's wrong?"

Toru could only grin as he pushed on his father's head, "Daddy, Daddy, wake up."

Kaito opened his eyes, "Yes, Toru?"

Toru giggled and snuggled between his parents. _Thank you, Gackto_. Toru continued to live in his happy memories for what seemed to be years for him. He was able to live through his first few years of elementary school in nothing but complete bliss. In his mind, he was only thirteen years of age and he was good friends with Seira.

"Seira," Toru spoke as he walked home from school with his friend. "How old are you?"

Seira paused and looked at Toru, "It's rude to ask a girl her age, you know." Toru blinked blankly and waited for her answer. She gave a small laugh and said, "I'm twenty-two."

Toru paused and whispered, "Seira, do you like me?"

Seira looked down at Toru, a little surprised as to what he was asking. "Well…" She looked away while she blushed deeply. "A-as a friend, you know…" Her voice quieted.

Toru thought to himself that it was odd for Seira to be shy. "Oh, hey, let's go do public karaoke. I know you'll be able to show those people a thing or two about singing."

"Um, no, thanks, Toru," Her whisper just grew loud enough so that Toru could understand as to what she was saying.

Toru felt a little confused, "But I thought you liked to be in the spotlight."

Seira shook her head violently, "No, no, no."

"I could've sworn…" Toru's voice trailed off as he thought to himself. He muttered to himself, "Something's wrong here…"

"What?" Seira peered into Toru's eyes.

"Nothing, Seira, I have to go. Bye," Toru waved to her than ran off to the beach. "It isn't possible," He spoke, "Gackto rewound time, there's no way that Seira's personality could've taken a complete one-eighty. I would understand if it changed just slightly, but a complete one-eighty…"

He eyed the murky water suspiciously. "That's weird…" Toru stood and ran into the water. He swam when the water was too deep to run in. He looked up from the waves to see that he was swimming right back towards the shore. "What?" He shook his head and turned around to start swimming off again. Toru looked back up to see what was in front of him and now he was closer to the shore than before.

He paused and climbed out of the water. "That's strange." He squinted out to the horizon to see nothing but white space that could easily be blamed on as clouds. "What's happened to this world? It's still the same world, but the time was rewound."

Toru thought to himself, "This is impossible." He shrugged, "If it was impossible, it wouldn't be happening." He then laughed to himself, "I'm dreaming; that's all. When I wake up, that ocean will be there and Seira will be back to normal." He smiled at himself for thinking that something weird was going on.

Toru walked home happily and stepped inside the apartment. "I'm home," He sang lightly. He glanced around, "It's a little dark in here." He took off his shoes after closing and locking the door. "Mom," He called, "Dad?"

There wasn't a sound, nor was there a light bulb lit. Toru narrowed his eyes at what seemed to be dangerously cloudy skies outside. He dropped his book bag on the couch and walked through the kitchen and onto the balcony that couldn't fit a chair.

"What's going on?" He asked himself aloud as he stared at the menacing waters. "Just because Gackto rewinds time, doesn't mean he can attack years later." Toru gave a slight hiss as he watched the storm go on. He thought to himself and his thoughts rang out how horrible it would be if he saw the night terrors that appeared in his dreams when he was staying with the band.

Toru shook his head, "No," he gave a slight laugh, "it's just a storm. There's no way that-" He cut himself off as he turned slowly to see two lifeless bodies lying on the floor. His eyes grew wide at the bloody masses.

"Toru," They quietly moaned, "why didn't you save us? Why didn't you save us from Gackto?"

Toru panted and sweat poured down his face. "W-what," he attempted to shout without a voice, "I-I didn't-I-I mean I tried-"

"You gave in," the-what seemed to be male-body spoke as it sat up slowly, pouring blood over the floor.

Shivers ran up Toru's spine, "This isn't possible!" He yelled," There's no way that this is possible, dead bodies can't move in real life!"

Seira opened the door, "They can't?"

Toru gulped, "They can't…" He paused and watched in horror as Seira was turned into a bloody stump out of the blue. Horror overtook Toru as he ran out of the apartment. He ran past the elevator and to the top of the stairs. He took a step, fearing he would fall, and sure enough a small mound of solid material pulled up out of the top stair, tripping him. He shrieked as he fell down the stairs. Bruises bloomed as cuts appeared across his body. He landed on his back down at the bottom. His eyes closed as the lonely sound of rushing waves appeared.

"Hey bud," Hiroki's voice appeared. "Welcome back to the real world."

Toru opened his eyes to see Hiroki's crimson eyes staring back through his dark bangs. "Hiroki," Toru whispered lightly. He tried to sit up, but he felt himself bound in a tube of thick glass. He glanced around the tube to see it cracked with a huge chunk missing directly parallel to his head and torso. "What's holding me down?"

Hiroki broke apart the vines that bound Toru then he helped his pupil sit up, "Look around and see the world you've created by giving up your pearl."

**M-12: Tune in next time I update to see what goes on next.**


	13. Determination

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pichi Pichi Pitch Mermaid Melody.**

**M-12: Hey, all, it's been a while. After I finally got another review for this story, I decided that I needed to add another chapter. Luckily, I already planned the rest of the story (more or less) and am now writing it. This part will be especially fun to write, considering the fact that the destruction of the world was very logical. (: I just hate it when people write, "And then the world blew up for no apparent reason". You'd think that Gackto's power doesn't stretch beyond the ocean, huh? That's right, but there are certain events that can happen that lead to the destruction of the land life, because of a few things that happened underwater. Enjoy reading this chapter, everyone! (If you read all this, you receive an imaginary Toru voodoo doll to stick pins in)**

**Mama's A Mermaid**

Chapter 13 – Determination

Toru stared out at the open sea. The air was clean, the current was moving, but the water itself was dark. "Hiroki," He paused, "why is the ocean," he looked at Hiroki, noticing the scenery behind his friend, "…dark…?" He stared at the sandy shores and what was mixed in with them. There were scraps of buildings that were being eroded away by the hurricanes and push and pull of the water. He looked behind him, hoping to see the city, but what he saw was nothing but a barren landscape. There was dirt as far as the eye could see and skies clouded by a constant rain. Toru remembered before the deal, he remembered he was standing in the classroom with Selena. It seemed as if it was a lifetime ago, but in reality it was only a few years. Toru growled, "When I get my hands on that girl, I'll kill her."

Hiroki had a perplexed expression on his face. He asked, "What girl?"

Toru hissed out her name, "Selena. She sang a lullaby to me. That must've been when Gackto kidnapped me and forced me into that deal."

Hiroki's right eyebrow stretched up while his left one dug down on his forehead, "Oh? He _forced _you to give over your pearl? Is that it?"

Toru paused and started to pull vines from his fin. He spoke in a small voice, "Well… He didn't exactly force me… I thought it was for the best! He said he would free all the mermaid princesses and their pearls and rewind time as long as I gave him what he needed to do it!"

Hiroki gave a small laugh, "Let me guess. He said he needed your pretty, little pearl to-let's make sure we get all of this-turn back time, let all the mermaid princesses go, let all the mermaid princesses' pearls go, and return your parents to you. He could do this huge job with just your little pearl?" Toru didn't speak. Hiroki laughed then yelled, "You idiot! If he needed your precious pearl to turn back time,-which only Timers can do-he would've used a different pearl! He had _all_ of them along with their color-coordinated princesses! Do you honestly believe that Gackto would've done just that? Do you?"

Toru glared at the ground, "I'm sorry," he yelled, "I'm sorry that I'm not some perfectly brilliant person that can see through any and every disaster! Am I not allowed to mess up at all?"

"Will you shut up?" Hiroki smacked Toru's head, "This isn't about you! Everyone's dead-including Selena! Not only will you not be able to kill her, but you won't be able to save her fiancé-you know-the one she was being blackmailed with."

Toru looked up at Hiroki and spoke softly, "She was being blackmailed?"

"Yes," Hiroki huffed, "there was no way Damian would get himself killed, leaving Selena all by herself. When Selena found out that Gackto locked Damian away, she was willing to do anything to get him back. As it turns out, the last mermaid royalty was a _prince_, so having a good actress that could also sing siren songs-courtesy of Damian the siren-would be very helpful in that situation."

Toru hissed again, "That snake… So…they're both dead?"

Hiroki nodded, "Yes."

Toru looked around then looked back up at Hiroki, "How did this happen? I thought Gackto only had the powers of the sea."

Hiroki gave out a small laugh and squatted down next to Toru, "Elementary, my dear water creature. Gackto killed off the surface world with his constant tsunamis, hurricanes and various natural disasters. This is the result of your mistake. It's like this under the sea, too. Squids inked up the surface so Gackto wouldn't have the sun in his eyes," Hiroki's mocking tone was apparent. "The underwater plants died, because they didn't have any sun and the fish that ate the underwater plants perished. When they perished, so did the other fish. Before you knew it, all the underwater life was gone or just very hard to find."

"N-no…," Toru gave off a small whimper.

Hiroki narrowed his eyes, "Your prison washed up on this shore, from when Gackto's castle blew up. His castle blew up, because of his awesome power which he stole from the mermaid princesses and his brother; your father!"

Toru gulped and murmured, "And what of my power?"

Hiroki's face hosted a cold expression, "Oh, _your _power? Oh, no, no, no, he didn't steal _your_ power. No, you served him your power on a silver platter."

Toru's hand pasted itself to his forehead. A soft voice came from his mouth, "All of this is my fault."

"Yes, all of it is your fault," Hiroki muttered, his tone letting up.

Toru groaned, "I'm such an idiot."

"Yes, you are," Hiroki continued agreeing with Toru.

Toru glared at Hiroki and yelled, "Why don't you care?"

Hiroki laughed, "Gackto can't do a thing to _my _home. My home is the magical realm; a parallel world to this one."

Toru's voice cracked; his brain just simply couldn't digest any more unusual information about Hiroki's background. He dismissed Hiroki's mood, "It's all over… The world is gone."

"And it's only 2010!" Hiroki laughed heartily, "You broke the 2012 disaster mark, good job."

"Damn…" Toru silently drowned in self pity.

Hiroki nudged Toru, "Hey, as long as you don't have to be anywhere, how about we finish learning 'Faust, Midas, and Myself'?"

Toru shrugged and whispered, "All right."

Hiroki inhaled and then began singing very familiar lyrics, "This one's about a dream I had last night.

" How an old man tracked me home and stepped inside,

"put his foot inside the door and gave a crooked smile.

"something in his eyes,

"something in his laugh,

"something in his voice that made my skin crawl off.

"He said, 'I've seen you here before, I know your name.

"Yeah, you could have your pick of pretty things.

"You could have it all.

"Everything you want. Everything you've seen.

"Everything you'll need. Everything you've ever had in fantasies'," Hiroki paused.

Toru groaned, "Is that all you're going to teach me? I thought you said you would teach me the rest!"

Hiroki rested a hand on Toru's head, "I want you to memorize the lyrics, but I do not want you to sing. Your voice is a danger to me without your pearl, understand?" Toru nodded. "Remember, you'll be singing for fun." He smiled happily, "So what if the world is finished? There's nothing to lose, then, right?" Toru slowly nodded. "Sing to lift hearts of others. It's tough times. Singing is the least you could do."

Toru smiled and nodded vigorously. "I see," He crawled out of his prison, "I want to sing now. It feels so good to sing."

"You'll need to wait until you have your pearl." Hiroki spoke strongly, "Okay?" Toru nodded. "I'll continue, and you'll notice that this song goes hand in hand with your life. …Except for a certain line later in the song-but just listen." He took a deep breath and continued with the lyrics, "You've one life, you've one life, you've one life left to leave.

"You've one life, you've one life, you've one life left to leave.

"I woke up from my dream as a golden man with a girl I've never seen with golden skin.

"I jumped up to my feet and she asked me what was wrong.

"I began to scream. I don't think this is me.

"Is this just a dream or really happening?

"You've one life, you've one life, you've one life left to leave.

"You've one life, you've one life, you've one life left to leave.

"What direction? What direction?

"I'm spinning up, I'm spinning up-

"This is my personal disaffection.

"What direction? What direction? What direction, now?

"I looked outside the glass at golden shores with golden ships and masts with golden cords.

"As my reflection passed, I hated what I saw.

"My golden eyes were dead and a thought passed through my head;

"a heart that's made of gold can't really beat at all.

"I wanted to wake up again. I wanted to wake up again without a touch of gold, without a touch of gold.

"What direction? What direction? What direction? What direction? What direction?

"Life begins-I feel a section- What direction? What direction? What direction, now?

"I woke up as before, but the gold was gone," Hiroki swung his arm out to the landscape. "My wife was at the door with her night robe on.

"My heart beat once or twice and life flooded my veins.

"Everything had changed.

"My lungs have found their voice.

"What was once routine was now the perfect joy," Hiroki held his index finger to Toru's face, "You've one life, you've one life, you've one life left to leave. You've one life, you've one life, you've one life left to leave." Hiroki closed his mouth, signifying the end of the song.

Toru blinked, "Yeah… That is kind of like my situation. Only…now that everything is real, it's all dead and I don't have a wife."

Hiroki laughed, "If you squirm your way through Gackto's traps, you could make everything right again and you'll even have a wife."

Toru thought for a second, "Everything is dead… I'd need to turn back time to get everything normal again…" He inhaled sharply, "Aki! Hiroki, call Aki!"

Hiroki smiled; he was proud of Toru for figuring this problem out, even he was spoon fed hints. With a snap of Hiroki's fingers, Aki appeared to Hiroki's left. "Hey, Aki, Toru figured out what he needed to do."

Aki gave a slight smile, "I see."

"Aki," Toru's face looked determined and brave for one of the first times in his life, "send me back. I have a bone to pick with 'Uncle' Gackto."

Hiroki stared at Toru, unamused, "You're just so full of jokes, aren't you, laughing boy?"

Toru paused before Aki sent him back to the time the deal was being introduced.

**M-12: And so ends another chapter of Mama's A Mermaid. Let's give a round of applause for possibly the third to last chapter. Boy, Toru really made a mess of things, didn't he? It's a good thing he can go back in time and set things right. …I wish I had an Aki to rewind times so I could fix my mistakes. D:**

**Review plz!~**


	14. Magnum

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch. Nor do I own 'Faust, Midas, and Myself'. **

**M-12: Hey!~ :D I wanted to get right back to writing as soon as possible. Maybe this will be the last chapter…?**

**Mama's A Mermaid**

Chapter 14 – Magnum

Toru appeared a few feet above a mirror-like floor, staring down. He looked older than he had last seen himself. His body floated down onto the cold floor. After taking a few seconds to stare at himself, he looked up and around to find himself in a daunting castle. Toru swam upright and looked up at a sharp chandelier, "That must've killed a few people when it fell in the future…or…never mind." He shook his head and remembered he was on a tight schedule. Immediately, he swam down hallways, searching for his younger self.

"Hey, look, it's Princey," A familiar voice spoke.

Another voice gave off a shrill tone, "I wonder what he's doing in here?"

Toru turned to see the Black Beauty Sisters. He stopped his swimming and glared at them. '_I've had just about enough of you two! If you come another step near me, I'll blow you out of the water!' _Toru would devour the chance to yell that at the Black Beauty Sisters, but he swallowed his anger and sighed deeply. He smiled softly and spoke, "You two need a little break. You look nervous and tired." Toru waved at the dumb founded Black Beauty Sisters and swam down the halls.

After finishing swimming down what seemed to be twenty halls, Toru finally found a long line of cylindrical prisons. These cases held Toru's father and then all of the mermaid princesses in rainbow order down to the very end where Toru's present, younger self was kept. Gackto stood in front of Toru's case, his eyes closed and the symbol of Panthalassa glowing on his forehead. The white haired prince loosely clung to his rose staff as he concentrated on projecting himself into present Toru's head.

Future Toru swam over to his case and looked for any possible weak points. He bit his lip as his time decreased then he looked at the staff. "Of course," he murmured as he slipped the staff out of his uncle's hand. He gripped the staff and smashed it as hard as he could against the case. Not a crack appeared. Toru sighed impatiently, "This is going nowhere fast…"

Toru gasped and dropped the staff, "My singing!" He smirked, "I'll sing and it'll crack the cases. Then I'll be able to open them." He paused and groaned, "But I shouldn't use music as a tool…" Toru rolled his eyes then smirked at his case. "Music helps to lift my spirits…and it'll help me think through this…" Without another word, Toru began singing scales. He started with a low sound and gradually sang higher and higher, until he reached a note achieved by a human, thus causing his case to crack dramatically.

"AHA!" Toru openly smiled and swiped up the staff and swung it into the case, shattering the pieces. He dug the glass shards out of the case and began snapping the vines that held his younger body in place. "Toru, you'll need to wake up now," he called loudly, "Toru, wake up!"

The younger Toru's eyes opened reluctantly, "What…?" He spoke softly and gasped at the older version of himself, "W-what? Who're you? Why do you look like me?"

Ignoring his younger self's questions, future Toru demanded, "Do you still have your pearl?" He kept eye contact as if he would die if he were to look away. The younger Toru stared back into the older Toru's eyes in thought. The cerulean eyes were the same-experiencing the same pain, the same deceptions, and the same fate. The older Toru gripped the younger Toru's shoulders as his voice hung on a dry whisper, "Did you or did you not give up the pink pearl?"

"I…" The younger Toru opened his mouth softly, "I still have it."

The older Toru's eyelids slowly covered his pupils, "Thank God…" His grip loosened on his younger self's shoulders. "Thank God you didn't give away mother's pearl." The older Toru's right hand covered the right side of his face in incredible relief. "I don't think my heart has ever beaten quite so fast."

The younger Toru held the prism necklace that concealed the pearl as he spoke, "If I give this pearl to Gackto, can't he rewind time so I could live my life with _both_ of my parents?"

The older Toru stared into the younger Toru's eyes sympathetically. His right hand slowly dropped down from his face and hovered above the prism. The older Toru's eyes stared at the mirror-like floor. He took a weak breath and pressed his hand on the younger Toru's hand that covered the prism, "No… Gackto is a complete liar and only means to destroy the precious life we take for granted." He looked up into the younger Toru's eyes. A watery sheen glazed over the older Toru's eyes as he whispered, "I saw the world as it was with Gackto in power. It's barren and it's very dead. We take the grass, the people, and even the clean water for granted." The older Toru bit his lip as he began fading into the younger Toru, "Protect this world. Protect it from Gackto." Without another word, the older Toru was gone, locked within the younger Toru's subconscious.

The younger Toru, now the only Toru within existence, gripped Gackto's rose staff and ripped the vines from his tail in a determined rage. Gackto's eyes began to open slowly, then suddenly wide. "Don't ever wake up immediately while I'm in your head again!" He muttered, "I thought I wouldn't be able to come out again…"

A smile creeped across Toru's face. The downfall of all evil villains just made its way through Gackto's mouth. Sure, his weakness wasn't fed to Toru through a shining fairy, but this would just about do it. He swam out of the cylindrical prison and floated in front of Gackto. "I'm glad I didn't fall to your Indian gift." He said.

Gackto narrowed his eyes and spoke with a silver tongue, "I meant it."

Toru paused and aimed the staff at Gackto, "You lie."

Gackto shook his head in frustration, "No, I want this to be better for all of us. I can start by having all the mermaid pearls. When that happens, I'll be able to clean the water, to keep the skies clean. I'll be able to solve the problems of this era that have to do with nature so much more easily."

Toru bit his lip in thought. He gazed at the mermaid princesses in the translucent cylinders. He waited then spoke, "You're a liar and I refuse to listen to you anymore."

Gackto placed a hand on Toru's shoulder and moved the rose staff aside. "You're not thinking big enough, Toru. Your mind is clouded with biased thoughts. To make this decision, you need to take all emotion out of the equation. It is better to give me your pearl than it is to keep it. You have no idea as to how it should be used, whereas _I_ know exactly what to do."

Toru swam back a few feet and glared furiously at Gackto. He yelled, "Stop lying!" He aimed the rose staff at Gackto. The rose glowed with a crimson rage as a cracking force shot out of the petals at Gackto.

Gackto's eyes widened as he leaped out of the way of the power. The force completely demolished the wall that was once behind Gackto. Gackto stared at the gaping hole then glared back at Toru. His glare turned into a pleased smirk as he saw Toru breathing heavily from the power he let loose through the staff.

Gackto casually strolled down the hall towards Toru, "It takes a lot of power to fuel that staff. You need emotions to do it. Your rage is weak, quite weak." He laughed darkly as he snatched the rose staff from Toru's hands, "I have plenty of it. It's a shame it's the only real feeling in the world." His smirk stayed intact as the rose began to glow red again.

Toru panted and looked up into Gackto's eyes, "No, you're wrong. Anger isn't the only feeling. It's terrible." He smiled softly, "I'm disappointed you believe that."

Gackto glared and smacked the staff over Toru's head, "Shut up!"

Toru yelped as he fell to the floor. He 'stood' parallel to Gackto. "I'm sorry you feel the need to take over the world," Toru's face began to show that he felt sorry for Gackto. "You must never have felt a shed of real happiness, have you?"

"Don't be condescending," Gackto yelled and grabbed Toru's throat. He aimed the glowing rose at Toru's head, "I will not be pitied!" His glare grew harder as did his grip. 'I am the most powerful, I am a prince of Panthalassa and you are not worthy to clean these halls, much less pity me!"

An aching feeling tore at Toru's heart. He hadn't a clue as to what it was, but he couldn't help, but to want Gackto free of this hatred. "I can't…" Toru spoke softly, "I can't pity you. Why is it that you put me though so much pain and I cannot hate you? When I look at you, I can neither feel hate…nor pity…"

Gackto's glare softened before he shot Toru down the hall with the force of the staff. Toru yelled out as he landed against the wall. "You talk as if you don't know. You're a naive child, just as you were so many years ago." Toru sat up from the rubble weakly. "You're in shock, you fool. You may think it's 'love', but no. Do you honestly think that you learned anything while you were in 'training'?"

Toru remembered the times he spent with the band and he remembered how Hiroki had so much fun singing and how he was so happy with such simple things. Toru looked up to see Gackto walking toward him. What Toru wanted for Gackto was real happiness. Other than the times Toru had with his parents, the happiest times he had was singing with the band. "'Faust, Midas, and Myself'," he announced. He stood and began to sing.

Gackto only stared at Toru as the song began and winced as the song picked up. He glared and advanced. Toru continued to sing as he dodged Gackto's attacks. Toru sang without his mike, causing Gackto to stop in the middle of the song and clutch his ears. His attacks lessened as the song progressed. By the end, the cylindrical prisons were cracked through and leaking and Gackto's ears couldn't take anymore of Toru's pitch.

The song was only a few lines away from being finished, "My heart beat once or twice and life flooded my veins.

"Everything had changed.

"My lungs have found their voice.

"What was once routine was now the perfect joy," Toru held Gackto's face up so he was staring into his eyes, "You've one life, you've one life, you've one life left to leave. You've one life, you've one life, you've one life left to leave." Toru closed his mouth, completing the song for the first time. Gackto didn't speak. Toru smiled softly and removed his hand from Gackto's chin. "I don't need an imaginary world where everything is perfect. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to appreciate the good times around me and I would never know the experience and knowledge pain brings. I need to learn how to live life to the fullest and without a care." He gave out a small laugh, "Just like one of my close friends."

Gackto tried to narrow his eyes, but he was too drained to do so. "…," Gackto spoke softly, "I… After what I've put you through, you don't kill me."

"I think," Toru placed a hand on Gackto's shoulder, "that it is what you said before. I'm not in shock, I'm just… feeling love for my uncle. I don't want to see anyone else sad or lonely or angry. Have you been lonely?"

Gackto bit his lip and stared at the mirror-like floor; his eye brows knitted together and turned up. "Always," He choked out, "always, I've been lonely." He looked up at Toru with sorrowful eyes, "I've been trapped down here for as long as I've lived, I've been treated like a complete outcast. The only ones there for me are my minions, but they're just another one of my creations designed to make me feel less lonely. Why is it that Kaito washed up on the shore and not me? Why couldn't have it been me with a family?"

"Because," A voice spoke from one of cylindrical prisons, "this is how things are." Toru and Gackto both looked at where the voice came from. Kaito stepped out of the cylinder and stood beside Toru. Toru stared at his father, wide eyed and mouth agape. Kaito smiled at Toru and then looked at Gackto with serious eyes, "Imagine extreme bliss and then suddenly your loneliness multiplied tenfold. That sort of comes close to what you put Toru through."

Toru nodded and then turned his head to Gackto. "It doesn't have to be either or, Gackto," Toru spoke stronger now that his father stood beside him. "The only choices aren't to destroy others or remain trapped in darkness."

Gackto hated to be analyzed as anyone probably would, but what other choice did he have? After all, this was all right and even though it was rather naïve, it seemed to fit. Gackto's whisper grew slightly stronger, "Then what other choice do I have?"

Toru smiled and held out his hand, "You could live among us and lock away the Panthalassa power so it isn't misused." Gackto's countenance hosted a look that showed he thought Toru was absolutely mad. "You would think that it would lead to that dark loneliness, but in reality it pushes you away from the selfishness of material power. By locking away the power of Panthalassa, not only will you be safe from madness and complete loneliness, but you will also be able to be around all sorts of people and us," Toru offered his hand out farther, "your family."

Gackto stared at the inviting hand and lifted his own hand up. He rested his hand in Toru's and stared into Toru's forgiving eyes. There was a long pause and Gackto finally spoke, "…Thank you, Toru…"

"You're welcome, Gackto," Toru gripped his uncle's hand. "Let's free the mermaid princesses." Gackto nodded and stood.

Another familiar voice came from down the hallway, "You need a cool head and a warm heart to get you through the day without coming apart," it sang. "You need a cool head and a warm heart and that's how every day should start-." Hiroki turned the corner to see the three males standing together. "Oh, a family reunion, cool," he beamed. "I take it everything went okay?" **(1) **

Toru smiled and nodded vigorously, "Yes!"

Hiroki gave a pleased chuckle and kept his smile still, "Think my job is done?"

Toru's smile disappeared for a second and rolled his eyes with a soft smile, "Yes, I think your job is done."

Hiroki grinned, "Sweet. Need some help freeing the princesses?" Gackto looked at the cylinders and nodded. "Then let's get this party started," Hiroki walked over to Noel's prison and started to remove shards.

The others began to do the same with the other mermaids and in no time at all, the princesses were free and steering clear of Gackto. Gackto took notice and figured that getting used to the fact that he had no desire to rule the ocean anymore would take time. In almost no time at all, the crowd of sea creatures were on the beach. As Hiroki chatted with Noel and Caren, he gradually remembered that there was something else he needed to do; something important. He stood suddenly and shouted at Gackto, "Gackto, where's Damian and Selena?"

Gackto looked at Hiroki from the water and pointed down into the water, "Damian's in the east corridor and I'm sure Selena's with him. The key to open the door is hanging right next to said door. You shouldn't have any trouble with it."

Hiroki gave out a sigh of relief and leaned back on the beach, "That's a relief." He then walked into the water, "I'll go grab them." Without another word, he dove down into the water and swam away.

Toru watched him go, before a tap on his shoulder caused him to look to his left. "Seira," a huge grin spread across his face, "it's been so long…" Letting his emotions overtake him, Toru held Seira to him, loving every second.

Seira blushed and hugged back, "Toru, I've missed you." It seemed as if they were the only two on the beach, listening to the harmony of the crashing waves.

A voice snuck between the two merpeople, "This is what it means to be held. How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life and you survive. This is what it is to be loved and to know that the promise was when everything fell we'd be held-." **(2)**

Without moving, Toru called out, "Thank you, Hiroki. I think I can take it from here."

Hiroki grinned as he climbed out of the water, "Ah, lovebirds." Seira and Toru kept holding each other, not caring what Hiroki had to say. He mumbled to himself, "Wasn't there something I was supposed to do before I left you guys alone…?" He bit his lip in thought and then smiled, "Oh, yes!"

Instantly, Toru was staring down the barrel of a silver magnum held by Hiroki's right hand. Hiroki wore a uniform of sorts while he aimed his gun between Toru's eyes. "I forgot that I needed to kill you."

**M-12: And so concludes Mama's A Mermaid. ^^**

**KEY:**

**(1): The title of the song Hiroki is singing here is "Cool Head, Warm Heart" by The Beach Boys. **** In case you all care to know, the album this song is on is "Songs From Here And Back". ^^ Please check it out. I would put a link of it up on my profile, but sadly, I couldn't find a video. O_O At all.  
**

**(2): This time Hiroki is singing "Held" by Natalie Grant. The album I got this from is "Awaken". Check it out, she's a great singer. ^^ And this song is particularly lovely. I'll put up a link for it on my profile.**


End file.
